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Conference room adjacent to the reception area.

other than our own CEO,” he said. “Bill [Hellmuth] had a lot components, not only marks the principal vertical circulation
of strong ideas, but he’s always been great at giving people the point, but also breaks up a long vista from the entry vestibule
opportunity to develop their own design identities.” through the reception area, conference area, and part of the
As usual, practical issues drove some of Beacham’s key studio space.
design decisions. For example, he quickly learned that the firm’s The reception area is defined in part by two planes of white
office space had been plagued over the years by leaks from the drywall on either side of a swath that is open to the charcoal-
apartments on the floors above—the result of chronically deferred gray-painted ducts, plumbing, and floor slab. These two white
maintenance that was beyond HOK’s control. The extent of the planes appear impossibly thin thanks to the detailing of their
problem became even more evident when a contractor removed edges, which were cut at 45-degree angles, with the upward-
portions of the existing ceiling. “You could look up and see the facing angled surfaces painted the same dark gray as the ducts
undersides of people’s bathtubs,” Beacham recalled. and pipes above. This technique not only reduces the apparent
Recognizing that such problems were likely to continue, he weight of the ceiling planes, but also hints at a broader design
decided to leave most of the overhead ducts and pipes exposed, concept underlying the renovation.
painting them charcoal gray—along with the floor slab above— “The building itself, with thick brick walls and deep arches,
to reduce their visual impact. A few specific spaces, however, is very solid—it’s all about mass,” explained Beacham. “The
warranted special ceiling treatments. Over the main stairway renovation is all about juxtaposition. What better way to contrast
linking the two levels of the office, an informal array of cloud- that thick historic structure than with thin edges and frames?”
like, hexagonal acoustical tile pods, made from off-the-shelf

INDUSTRIAL CHIC 65