Office Spotlight: 315 Hudson St

In 2015, JIDK designed Intent Media‘s office in New York. We reached out to JIDK to find more about their design and they generously provided us with the following information.

Can you walk us through the space? 

You enter into a reception with a low  ceiling with a large double height waiting area below a skylight beyond. Turn a corner and you come to a short hallway of meeting rooms, beyond lies an open work area with phone booths and conference rooms and an expansive canteen/all hands space with a stage, projector and tiered seating.  A large birch staircase leads you from reception up to the second floor, lit by a large skylight that shines down into the waiting area below. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, you arrive in the main workspace, with fully height adjustable workstations, a standup meeting room, phone rooms, a lounge, lockers & diner booths with reclaimed wood tops. A small pantry and bathrooms are hidden down a corridor.  A long art-filled hallway leading away from the main work area connects an auxiliary wing full of lounge spaces, conference rooms, an additional pantry, and access to the roof deck with adjacent bar area.

What were the objectives for the space? What was the design intent?  

The previous occupant was very old school in their allocation of space and the hierarchy was strong.  We wanted to flip that on its head so the “executive wing” became the conference wing. The walls hiding the employees from the view of any visitors were removed and the open office culture was celebrated. The CEO’s exclusive corner office, located far away from the main work floor and had a private bathroom and sweeping views of the Hudson and lower Manhattan was turned into the employee lounge and game room, with large sofas and bean bag chairs. Intent Media’s CEO prefers to sit with his team and the open office work areas are bright and spacious to accommodate that. Flanking them and easily accessible are standing counters along most windows – to highlight the amazing views – and numerous meeting spaces of various sizes. This is an office that encourages a dynamic workday, and went to great lengths to make both the individual work stations and the overall offices as flexible and accommodating as possible.

How does the design speak to the Intent Media brand/mission?

Intent Media is a collaborative, hierarchy free, open, friendly company with management sitting with their teams and dogs running beneath everyone’s feet. Transforming the previous space from an austere, hierarchical environment to suit Intent Media’s fun and friendly vibe was a blast.

What is the color palette for the space?

Color coding plays a large part in this project, illustrating effective wayfinding and space planning. Primary work zones are grounded by shades of calming blue, secondary, short term work zones are complemented with orange and red carpeting, attributed to be great for creative and energetic activities. Tertiary zones such as the yoga, gaming studio have purple carpeting, conducive for active work.

How does the design address employee well-being?

Long pathways circuit through the office, encouraging employees to get up and move around. Abundant lounge spaces offer lots of different places to work to suit any mood or whim, plus lots and lots of natural light. Additionally every desk is height adjustable and every employee has a top-of-the line office chair. Acoustical panels separating the workstations localize sound (and clutter) and gives everyone an efficient home base for when they are not working in the collaborative or quiet areas .

What else should we know?

We think this project highlights almost everything we like to see in a modern office – and does so within the constraints of NYC real estate. Intent Media had a long list of requests all targeted at maximum employee happiness (they are on Crain’s best offices 7 years running!) and with clever navigation of budgets and creative reuse of spaces we fulfilled them all.

Photographer: Peter Kubilus

Designer: JIDK