Contract Magazine - January 2020 - 97

"The selected materials and colors merge the different eras of construction and unify
the overall building with a sense of respect for the past."
-Katharina Hoerath, director of architecture, Bond Collective

Broadway, the grand thoroughfare that stretches along the whole length of
Manhattan, is a fixture of the pop culture canon. The mononym is associated
with everything from Times Square and the theater district to Piet Mondrian's
"Broadway Boogie-Woogie" and countless songs and films. Head to Brooklyn across
the East River, and you'll find a second Broadway-one less grandly associated with
showbiz and tourism, but abuzz with culture, commerce, and creativity all the same.
It's here, beside the elevated J/M/Z subway line that runs along the avenue, from
the Williamsburg waterfront to East New York, that coworking start-up Bond
Collective opened its latest location.
"Bushwick is a vibrant, evolving community, and we want to be at the
center of its growth," says Bond Collective's cofounder and CEO Shlomo Silver,
who jumped at the opportunity to expand the company's footprint when a vacant
historic corner property on the Broadway corridor became available. While the
close proximity to an elevated subway line might seem unappealing, with the
constant noise and rattle of trains and cars running by, Bond's in-house design
team, which oversaw the complete renovation and build-out, saw an opportunity
to embrace and connect with the character and history of the neighborhood.
They also found aesthetic inspiration in the wear and age of the imposing
structure, erected in 1897, which has developed "this incredible green patinated
surface over the years," says creative director Thomas Gibbons. "With the help
of Surface & Architecture Workshop, we swathed the existing brick-and-stucco
facade in a billowing mint-green wash that echoes the subway's timeworn finish."
As for the sound pollution, double-pane exterior windows and sealant ensure
that any interior noise is minimized to a light hum.
Merged with a neighboring structure for a combined 35,000 square feet
of interior space, the property is a mix of existing buildings and new construction,
explains Katharina Hoerath, director of architecture for Bond Collective's in-house
team. "The selected materials and colors merge the different eras of construction
and unify the overall building with a sense of respect for the past," she says.
A central staircase, with pavers built from a colorful custom terrazzo, winds
through each of the structures to both physically and materially unite the spaces.
Adding visual variation to the largely neutral and modern, pastel-hued
furnishings, this custom terrazzo was also used for surfaces and accent tables
throughout the space and was "inspired by nougat," says Elide Rathborne, director
of design, who specified a lively millennial-friendly palette to mix and play with
the original exposed brick walls and steel beams. Meanwhile, the bathrooms look
"as if they were coated in candy," lined with light pink tile and mint-green walls.
"We are bona fide color junkies and will spend weeks refining color palettes,"
she adds. "In general, we were trying to tell this story of something old becoming
new again and found color to be pivotal in doing so."
The color and material palette brings a residential feel into the workspace,
which boasts the capacity for 111 private offices, with a mix of sizes ranging from
single- to 50-person occupancy and 35 dedicated or hot desks. The pet-friendly
property also includes a range of shared amenities: booths for phone calls or small
meetings, 20-person conference rooms, full-function kitchens, rooms for mothers,
shower rooms with towel service, bicycle storage, personal mailboxes, two
furnished outdoor roof spaces, and a back patio.

This colorful variety and multimodality of Bond Collective Bushwick is meant
to speak to the diversity of its local environs, as Gibbons attests, from the Haitian
cafe across the street to its neighboring family-owned flower shop. "The Broadway
corridor in Brooklyn is a lively and ever-evolving mash-up of cultures and styles,"
he says. "We knew that we had to make something that didn't feel like an imposing
corporate structure but had an open, uplifting, and democratic spirit-really
something for everyone." -Aileen Kwun

P RO J EC T C R EDI TS

Client Bond Collective
Architects Katharina Hoerath, Bond
Collective; Christian Lahoude Studio
Interior designers Elide Rathborne
and Thomas Gibbons, Bond Collective
Contractor Elbo Construction
Consultants Elie Deitsch and Shlomo
Silber
Lighting Elide Rathborne and Katharina
Hoerath
Kitchen Elide Rathborne, Thomas
Gibbons, Katharina Hoerath, and Matis
Biederman
Landscape Custom plantings by Max Reis
Graphics Loren Polster
SELEC T ED SOU RC ES

Custom terrazzo Terrazzco, Josh
Boncosky
Exterior facade finish SAAW (Surface
& Architecture Workshop), Scott Stewart
and Young Yoon
Sustainable acoustic installation
Carpetcycle, Sean Ragiel
Custom upholstery Bay Decorators,
Kenny Gams
Wallcoverings Kravet, Duralee
Paint Benjamin Moore
Laminate Abet Laminati
Masonry walls Existing
Hard flooring Wood Havwoods
Tile Town & Country Surfaces
Carpet/carpet tile Bentley Mills
Recessed lighting Lumen
Track lighting Nora
Floor/table lamps Entler, In Common
With, Sho Modern, West Elm x Bower
contract

Pendants/chandeliers Lee Broome,
O'Lampia Studio, Kelly Wearstler
Sconces O'Lampia Studio, Sho Modern
Custom carpets Stepevi
Decorative glass panels/partitions
Crystal Glass and Mirror
Window treatments Elite Decor
Workstation/task seating HON
Conference seating Scandinavian Design
Lounge/reception seating
Scandinavian Design
Cafeteria/dining seating TON, DWR,
Industry West
Other seating Industry West
Conference tables Urbia, CB2, and
Custom
Cafeteria/dining tables Custom
terrazzo with Falcon base, CB2
Reception desk Custom terrazzo
Side tables Vintage Maitland-Smith, Blu
Dot, West Elm, CB2, Urbia, Scandinavian
Design
Other tables Noir, IKEA X Semihandmade
Planters, accessories NewGrowth
Designs, Allstate Floral, Crate and Barrel
planters
Signage (fabricator) Front Signs, NY
Sign Art
Plumbing fixtures/fittings Duravit,
Sanliv, Gatco, Soho Dispensers
Contract Magazine - January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract Magazine - January 2020
