Total Design

In designing Bloomberg’s New York headquarters, Studios Architecture and the in-house Bloomberg team wanted to avoid creating the typical corporate interior. All aspects of the project had to reflect the global company’s brand, and that needed to be evident throughout the space. As they worked to synthesize the art, space, and technology, Studios Architecture principal Tom Krizmanic says the designers asked themselves, “How do you pull the feel of the future of a 24-hour global organization into the space?”

Experimenting through various projects over the years, Bloomberg has learned to transform its offices into three-dimensional manifestations of the information technology at the heart of the company—knowledge that has been fully deployed in New York. “We wanted to get every experience—from the time you walk in the front door to when you sit down at your Bloomberg Terminal—to feel like one,” Krizmanic says. “It’s all designed as a single experience.”

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Dichroic Glass
Because Bloomberg’s office culture emphasizes transparency, clear and colored glass are used throughout the building. The CEO’s office—which doubles as a conference room—features Dichrolam, a color-shifting reflective foil from John Blazy Designs that is laminated between sheets of glass to produce a shimmery effect. “CEO Lex Fenwick deserved something special,” Krizmanic says. “The dichroic glass was the mother ship—the fulcrum from which all the colors of the glass are subtly derived.” www.johnblazydesigns.com

Computer Key Stools
First commissioned for Bloomberg’s London office, these customized Mixko stools—located in break-out areas outside conference rooms on levels three, four, and five—replicate the color-coded keys on the Bloomberg keyboard. “When you are looking across the room, these stools really help announce the Bloomberg identity because they are instantly recognizable,” Bloomberg architect Keith Barr says. www.mixko.net

Interface Equilibrium Carpet
Due to the high-tech nature of Bloomberg’s business, and because the whole building is on a raised floor, the choice of carpet tile over broadloom was a given. These custom-colored 20-by-40-inch carpet tiles are used everywhere except inside conference and broadcast rooms. “We wanted something textured with a degree of pattern; but because we were using a lot of colors in the glass, we needed a carpet that worked as a good foundation with the white tables,” Krizmanic says. www.interfaceflooring.com

Estudio Cabeza Outdoor Furniture
The Argentinian design studio was commissioned to create monumental and dynamic outdoor furniture for the building’s large terraces. For example, the Patagonico Benches are made from blocks of Patagonian porphyry stones and steel; other pieces from the line have also been specified for the interior. www.estudiocabeza.com

Lutron Sivoia QED Shades
Incredibly silent electronically controlled shades—1,892 of them—are connected to a Lutron lighting processor that is integrated with the building management system. “The design team wanted a motorized shading system to go from Lexington to Third Avenue that could be raised or lowered uniformly,” Krizmanic says. “With many different grades of shades, Lutron has the smarts and the electronic capability.” www.lutron.com

Mitsubishi Spiral Escalator
To help transport the higher volume of people in the new space, the design team incorporated this spiral escalator between the fifth and sixth floors. “We wanted visitors to have an experience that took them past the broadcast studio yet oriented them in the right manner when they landed on the fifth floor,” Barr explains. “The curved escalator was a good fit.” www.mitsubishi-elevator.com

Broadcast News “Textile”
“One of the things you want to do on a television set is to create visual complexity and depth,” Studios’ Brian Tolman says. To achieve that, a custom background screen, designed in collaboration with Bloomberg’s editorial team and Production Design Group, was printed on Acrilex Plexiglas and backlit with color-changing LEDs. www.acrilex.com; www.pdgltd.com

Depp Glass
“The openness of the organization—the fact that you can see into every conference room—that’s at Bloomberg’s core,” Krizmanic says. To interpret that in the new environment the design team worked with Depp Glass, a 142-year-old architectural laminating company, to produce custom-colored backdrops for wall cladding, interior elevator walls, flooring, stairways, doors, a walkway, and even the concierge desk. www.deppglass.com

Knoll Life Chair
The Knoll Life chair has a polished base that matches the specified desk system. Barr also mentions that the chair was selected because it is visually light and slim. The pale backing was specified because it blends in with the desks and monitors when the chair is unoccupied. www.knoll.com

Unifor Naos Desking System
This award-winning system has a long run of desks that adjusts to the number of users sitting in rows. “Naos had the same finishes and materiality that we were trying for with the architecture,” Tolman says. “The desks feel like the monitor and the architecture. At the same time, Bloomberg was redesigning their terminal, so we used the same materials and finishes.” www.unifor.it

Herman Miller Mirra Chair
With bright orange foam-free upholstery and a white back, this ergonomic seating added energy to the training center on Lower Level 2, which has no street windows. “The orange fabric adds a punch of color—especially when the training rooms aren’t in use,” Krizmanic says. www.hermanmiller.com

Lumisty Film
This film was applied to the transparent glass of the green room to make the space somewhat visible while remaining private for television-show guests. As the viewer’s angle shifts, so does the translucency of the film. “There’s a level of privacy within that room so that people passing by can see in but can’t stare in,” Barr says. “And because it’s a curved surface, the guests can see out of the room in two or three directions.” www.glassfilmenterprises.com

B&B Italia Radar Chair
“We wanted something that was white and reflective of the new Bloomberg,” Krizmanic says of the green room’s James Irvine chairs, which are upholstered in B&B Italia Kappa white leather. “And this is just a sexy chair.” www.bebitalia.it

Catifa Chair
These stackable chairs, available from Gordon International, are used in the multipurpose auditorium. “We paraded forty chairs into this space looking for one that could be ganged together, was comfortable, and looked good from front and back,” Krizmanic says. “If you enter from the back, you think they are green chairs. From the front and they’re all white, like the new Bloomberg monitor.” www.gordoninternational.com

Moroso Serpentine Sofa
“We wanted communal seating on Lower Level 2 that could be used as a break-out space or for a very casual meeting,” Krizmanic says of Tom Dixon’s reconfigurable seating system, distributed by M2L. “Unlike typical groupings where everyone faces the center, we wanted something where you could sit, relax, and be by yourself.” www.moroso.it; www.m2lcollection.com