Contract - April 2010 - (Page 38)

design S MER SUM OL The designers cut a hole into the roof and topped it with a solar-controlled skylight to let in natural sunlight at all times of year. UI EQ X NO WIN TER SO L PIN-UP & DISPLAY INDIVIDUAL WORK SPACE CONFERENCE STUDIO North-South section Occupying the entire 9,000-sq.-ft. top floor of a landmarked 12-story, 1910 building on the West Side of Manhattan, the footprint is long and narrow, with windows on the short north and south sides. “The skylight is a way to bring in natural light and improve the quality of the work environment for everyone,” says Michael Wyetzner, principal of Michielli + Wyetzner Architects. “It also dovetails with the space’s flexible, reconfigurable conference room,” says Frank Michielli, Michielli + Wyetzner’s other principal. Crowned by the 10-ft. by 10-ft. skylight, the reconfigurable conference SUPPORT COMMUNAL CONFERENCE ENTRY WORK SPACE room is the centerpiece of the open plan design, both functionally and aesthetically. “When we started the project, AECOM’s London-based East-West section COO, Bill Haney, expressed the company’s goal of establishing an elevated, recognizable design quality in all its offices around the world,” says Michielli. “They also wanted to create a space that was highly collaborative and comfortable for clients to hang out in.” Not only does the conference room set a design tone for other offices around the globe, but it also signals AECOM’s commitment to both high design and sustainability to its clients the instant they enter the space. Another top priority for the client was flexibility, and the conference room plays a pivotal role in achieving that, too. Defined by a series of The custom-designed reception desk (above) in AECOM’s New York office is made of a recycled and compressed paper product called Paperstone, one of many eco-friendly materials that helped to earn the space a LEED Gold rating. A skylight and generous windows bring natural daylighting into workspaces (left). Configured here in exhibition mode (opposite), the moveable panels are mounted on translucent acrylic boards, supported by a custom mounting system developed by the architects. As a sustainable gesture, architects included the existing wood floor as part of the design scheme, and dug trenches to bury telecommunications cables with aluminum covers to eliminate the need for a raised floor or drops from the ceiling. 38 contract april 2010 www.contractdesign.com http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - April 2010

Contract - April 2010
Contents
Editor's Note
Industry
Resources: The Green Scene
Focus: Land of Opportunity
Green: Post-Occupancy Green
Practice: Legal Green
Lean & Green
Environmental Extraordinaire
Above the Legal Limit
Informing the Masses
Luxury in the Raw
Designers Rate: Green Products
Process: Science in the Age of the Invisible
Sources
Ad Index
Perspectives

Contract - April 2010