New York City, NY

As part of Butler Rogers Baskett Architects, Ms. Bourke became involved with this French financial corporation, designing their North American headquarters in New York. The project dealt with two distinct spaces, the first 2 000 m² on Park Avenue and the second a 4 000 m² downtown office tower storey. The client wanted to present an image of good taste and typically French style to New Yorkers, at the same time demonstrating the spirit and energy appropriate to the metropolitan environment

The spaces were renovated for a variety of different uses: a significant number of work stations, meeting places, team zones and private offices. Particular attention was paid to the reception area, the most important place for establishing the bank’s branding.

Our approach optimizes workers’ access to daylight by spiraling the workstations and the meeting rooms off a central service core. This rational layout favours efficiency and productivity while also offering the magnificent view of Manhattan and the river. The colour and material palette reflect the refined corporate attitude of the bank, while hinting at its avant-garde nature. Ms. Bourke designed the built-in furniture, whereas the other furniture was imported from France specifically for this project. The result is at once luminous, light and flexible, successfully expressing French rationality with a touch of  'je ne sais quoi '.

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