Argo Group NYC

Lead Designers Kazumi Tanimura

Entry Description

Instead of a corporate white-box, ARGO executives took a bold move, relocating their office to a rustic 19th-century warehouse in the meat packing area. The new space is composed of two landmark buildings with a new penthouse on the rooftop, 45,800 sqft total. In addition to filing as two buildings, the expiring lease of the previous office gave us 9 months to design and build. The architect took an unusual approach, choosing all dark finishes: black ceilings, steel and barnwood walls, and grey concrete floors. To maintain the esthetic, multiple linear LEDs with black stained wood were randomly located giving the appearance of a black forest with sunlight beaming thru the skylight. Special lenses provided wider beams and black louvers cut the glare, essential for computer screens. The second building had a white concrete ceiling with massive beams used as a tray for indirect light. An enormous 4'x40' pendant light hung over the workstations essentially created a second layer of ceiling. While the glass covered penthouse offered ample daylight, our lighting kept the night view of the world trade center clear. The team created a one of a kind environment for this ambitious client.