Commercial real estate company, Newmark Knight Frank, recently completed a new office within the city’s Fifth Street Towers and the project is both sophisticated and modern. At the center of the design is an eye-catching metal structure, known to many as “the box,” fabricated from lightweight aluminum sheets made by Oaklandbased metal experts, Móz Designs.
Completed in June 2018, the design team at Studio BV knew from day one that they wanted to create “big monumental moments” throughout Newmark’s new office. For Studio BV, the company’s future growth was a major factor in the design of the space. The thinking behind it was simple: Newmark is a fast-growing global company. Forward-thinking design with large-scale architectural statements would help make future office expansions easier.
Another major design consideration was that this is the company's first Minneapolis office. Because of that, Studio BV treated the design as an introduction to the Newmark brand— focusing on the fact that this space is where a lot of Minnesotans will experience the company’s work and brand for the first time. “They were looking for something creative,” explains Betsy Vohs, founder, CEO and partner at Studio BV. “Something that’s reflective of the brand and the culture of their business.” To that end, the team knew they wanted to incorporate a major design element to welcome visitors as they enter the office, and the idea to build a large-scale, modern, attentiongrabbing metal box in the reception area was born. Right away, it was obvious that “the box” would be more than just a featured design element in the lobby.
Since the kitchen sits directly behind reception, the metal box also acts as a space divider between the two spaces, adding space for cabinets and a bar. Originally, the design team planned to use blackened steel for the box. However, the weight and cost of steel soon became a major problem. “We needed to figure out how we were going to achieve this and make it happen,” explains Vohs. “‘How do we make it feasible? It’s a box, it’s a bar, it’s a kitchen, it’s the back of reception—it’s the focal point of the project.” That’s where Móz Designs came in. Aluminum metal sheets in Classic Ebony with a Fog Polycoat Matte finish from Móz Designs proved to be the perfect solution for the project. In all, 26 4x10 aluminum sheets were used to create the striking metal box.
Lightweight and easy to work with, Móz metal sheets can be specified with a large variety of grains and colors (or custom) to fit any color palette or design aesthetic. Designers can achieve the look and feel of natural metals using lightweight solid-core Móz aluminum sheets. With the project now complete, Newmark has a dynamic office space that is both beautifully designed for their current team and expertly poised to expand in the future.
