Perkins+Will has unveiled its design for 799 Broadway, a 12-storey next-generation office building co-developed by Normandy Real Estate Partners and Columbia Property Trust in New York. The 160,000-square-foot building reinvents the classic NYC loft building with contemporary materials, systems, and technology, while the sculptural massing responds to zoning setback regulations. The result is a human-scale expression with meaningful connections to the outdoors.
Located in the vibrant Manhattan neighbourhood of Greenwich Village, the innovative office concept meets the needs of tomorrow’s tech and creative workforce by offering open, flexible workspace for creative and collaborative tenants, which is not always available in Manhattan. Ceilings reach 15 feet, offering open, airy environments that accommodate various work functions and styles. Meanwhile, private outdoor terraces provide greenery, fresh air and daylight access.
While volumetrically dynamic, the design materially respects the surrounding historic neighbourhood. The exterior features a simple palette of white metal panels, clear glass windows and wood soffits that echo the classic iron-cast building across 11th Street while picking up on the white limestone of the iconic Grace Church across Broadway. The materials are woven together to unify the glass volumes.
The façade design takes advantage of “Zone Green NYC” which rewards building plans that exceed the NYC Energy Code by 80%. Responding to natural site attributes, most of the opaque walls face south while glazing is located to the north, thus reducing the energy demand upon the building. Solar analyses determined that the shading devices would only be helpful 9% of the time, and maximizing cantilevered distances on the East Façade allows for blockage of hot, summer, morning sun.
A courtyard doubles as an outdoor component of the tenant lounge, where many of the building’s amenities are housed. These include a fully equipped bar, kitchen prep area, gym with locker room and showers, and bike storage. Retail frontage along Broadway further integrates the building into its surroundings, while on the rooftop, a terrace boasts views of East River, TriBeCa, One World Trade, and the Hudson River.
Interiors include cast-in-place concrete structure and ceilings, a main lobby with clear sight lines to a shared courtyard that offers a focus for social and business functions.
“The scale of the building and its relationship to the neighbourhood emphasizes human experience. How tenants would actually use the space informed every decision we made. We see the setbacks mandated by the city as an opportunity for terraces that will serve as intentional extensions of the workplace. They’re large enough for furniture, so you can move from an indoor to an outdoor setting seamlessly. The resulting dynamic architectural identity is an outcome of this relationship and will lead a new generation of open, flexible, human-scaled office budlings in the city.” Robert Goodwin, Design Director, Perkins+Will.
The project has also achieved a LEED Gold (pending) rating.
