{"id":233384,"date":"2024-07-11T10:41:18","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T14:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=233384"},"modified":"2024-07-11T10:41:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T14:41:20","slug":"climate-initiatives-new-york-office-by-schiller-projects","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/climate-initiatives-new-york-office-by-schiller-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Initiatives\u2019s NYC Office Shines With Sustainable Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"room
Behind the custom 10-foot-square, quartz-topped worktable with GamFratesi\u2019s Beetle task chairs in the all-hands is a pair of Petit Repos club seats by Antonio Citterio. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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July 11, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Jane Margolies<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Eric Laignel<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Climate Initiatives\u2019s NYC Office Shines With Sustainable Design<\/h1>\n\n\n

Climate Initiatives, an investment and philanthropic venture, was established nearly a decade ago. For several years, it operated out of a rented, furnished office in New York. But by 2022, with the company expanding and gaining traction in its quest to help turn the tide on climate change by incubating start-ups and funding projects that advance global decarbonization, the cofounders felt the firm should have a place of its own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the list of requirements was a workplace flexible enough to accommodate further growth, particularly tricky to determine considering the changing work patterns resulting from the pandemic and not knowing how many people might be on the premises on any given day; an environment that\u2019s comfortable and sophisticated, with a residential feel; and, above all, a space that reflects the Climate Initiatives mission. That meant everything, from finishes to furniture, had to be \u201cfiltered through the lens of sustainability and carbon footprint,\u201d recalls Aaron Schiller, founder and principal of Schiller Projects<\/a>, the architecture firm tapped for the job. His studio is well-versed in designing with materials and processes low in greenhouse-gas emissions, recently renovating a 19th-century Brooklyn carriage house utilizing mass-timber construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"two
Natural materials and light abound at the New York office of Climate Initiatives, an investment firm focused on advancing global decarbonization, by Schiller Projects, as witnessed in the all-hands area\u2019s white oak flooring and washi-paper Akari pendant fixtures by Isamu Noguchi. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Consider the partitions that divide the 6,000-square-foot floor Climate Initiatives leased in a midtown Manhattan building. Instead of being composed of standard drywall, they\u2019re formed from vertical slats of Douglas fir, bringing a warm, natural material to the fore. The slats, made of Forest Stewardship Council\u2013certified wood, demarcate areas while also enabling sunlight to penetrate the all-hands area at the center of the plan, along with inspiring glimpses of Central Park to the north and the Empire State Building to the south. \u201cThe \u2018wood wall\u2019 was conceived as a device that would never block but filter, a tool to allow and organize focus or collaboration through light and connection,\u201d Schiller explains. Where acoustics and privacy are concerns, panes of glass have been added over the slats. Should the firm relocate, the wood components can be disassembled and repurposed, minimizing waste. \u201cIt\u2019s like an erector set,\u201d Schiller Projects partner Colin Cleland adds. \u201cNothing is fixed in place.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the perimeter of the floor are the founders\u2019 and principals\u2019 offices along with myriad flexible spaces, each fronted with glass so everyone has access to light and views. There are two large conference rooms as well as a series of smaller meeting rooms, about 10 by 15 feet, each furnished with a desk and chair as well as a separate table with chairs, to function either as conference spaces or private offices, depending on employee needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eoos designed the Aesync task chairs and the Bouroullecs the Tyde 2 desks in the open office area, where the Doug fir partition incorporates shelving. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aesthetics were as important as functionality. The cofounders \u201cshared a concern about offices designed by men for men,\u201d Schiller says, adding that they requested theirs be inviting and \u201cnot too overtly masculine.\u201d So, here, textured wallcoverings add color and tactility to select expanses. Rather than the usual wall-to-wall carpet, there are abstractly patterned wool and cotton rugs enlivening the polished-concrete flooring. That switches to planks of FSC\u2013certified white oak in the all-hands, where more than a dozen Isamu Noguchi paper lanterns in various sizes and shapes animate the ceiling-scape. Other accent lighting is from local makers, such as Fort Standard in Brooklyn and Stickbulb, a Certified B Corporation in Queens that incorporates wood salvaged from decommissioned New York City water towers in its LED-lit fixtures. Keepsake furniture pieces by such mid-century and current masters as Jean Prouv\u00e9, Antonio Citterio, and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec<\/a> have rounded, organic silhouettes. Paintings from the clients\u2019 collection are mounted in openings in the slatted walls, each niche sized to accommodate a specific artwork; other recesses are fitted with display shelves. \u201cWhere we coincided with immovable moments, like building columns, we made those barriers disappear by giving depth to the partition system, hanging art within it or making it interactive through the deployment of books and objects that relate to the clients\u2019 work,\u201d Schiller says.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entry lounge at one end of the elevator lobby is particularly residential in character. In other workplaces, this is where you\u2019d find a reception desk. But this space\u2014with its curvilinear sofa and generous armchairs upholstered in sage-green and pale-pink velvet, respectively, anchored by a plush rug, its vibrant pattern suggesting rare gems or paving stones\u2014can serve as a waiting area for visitors, a breakout space for events held in the nearby conference rooms, or a comfy place for staffers to work on their laptops or phones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"lounge
Dune Studio\u2019s Hybrid sofa and Sejour armchairs by GamFratesi flank the lounge\u2019s Jean Prouv\u00e9 Gu\u00e9ridon Bas table, backdropped by one of the office\u2019s two conference rooms. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One measure of the project\u2019s success is how well the office has accommodated the firm\u2019s evolution. At the start of the process, the company had about a dozen employees; now there\u2019s more than double that. There was a name change as well, starting out as something more abstract. So the company recently adopted the more straightforward Climate Initiatives to make clear, as this office surely does, what it\u2019s all about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover Climate Initiatives\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0Sustainable Oasis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Elevator
A cove carved out of the elevator lobby ceiling is fitted with plaster-coated acoustic paneling and hidden LEDs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"two
Custom partitions are Douglas fir, that wood and the oak floor planks both Forest Stewardship Council\u2013certified.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"room
Behind the custom 10-foot-square, quartz-topped worktable with GamFratesi\u2019s Beetle task chairs in the all-hands is a pair of Petit Repos club seats by Antonio Citterio. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"office
Niels Diffrient\u2019s Freedom chair in a principal\u2019s office.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"partition
A partition niche sized to accommodate art from the clients\u2019 collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A custom standing desk of rift-cut white oak in a cofounder\u2019s office. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"end
Lumen wallcovering backing a Lina swivel chair by Hlynur Atlason at the end of the elevator lobby.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Noguchi
Some of the 18 Noguchi lanterns in all-hands.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"entry
In the entry lounge, the Tones rug by Cl\u00e0udia Valsells is wool. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"closeup
Sunlight shadow play on the Tweed Indeed carpet tile, composed of 84 percent recycled content, recessed into the polished-concrete floor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"conference
Brass banding a conference room\u2019s Coolabah Natural wool rug, anchoring a Corian-topped table and an Aesync chair.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"nook
Simon Legald\u2019s Form stool and RBW\u2019s Dimple sconce furnishing a heads-down nook. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Residential notes in the entry lounge. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"office
A wool B\u00e5stad rug under the custom desk in the cofounder\u2019s office joins Mark M\u00fcller\u2019s Vox conference table on a cotton Plus rug by Alexander Girard, capped by Fort Standard\u2019s Counterweight pendant fixture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"meeting
Softshell chairs by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec pull up to a Ryvit white oak\u2013topped table in a meeting room.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"meeting
The wallcovering and Raf Simons chair fabric bring\u2028a tactile quality to another meeting room. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
PROJECT TEAM<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

SCHILLER PROJECTS:<\/strong> ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ; ALISON HOCHMAN. STAMP ARCHITECTURE:<\/strong> ARCHITECT OF RECORD. LIGHTING WORKSHOP:<\/strong> LIGHTING DESIGNER. ROBERT DERECTOR ASSOCIATES:<\/strong> MEP. MILLER BLAKER:<\/strong> MILLWORK. TKO:<\/strong> PROJECT MANAGER. STRUCTURE TONE:<\/strong> GENERAL CONTRACTOR. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRODUCT SOURCES<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

FROM FRONT NOGUCHI SHOP:<\/strong> PENDANT FIXTURES (ALL-HANDS). GUBI:<\/strong> TASK CHAIRS. DESIGN PUBLIC:<\/strong> STOOLS (ALL-HANDS, NOOK). FLOR:<\/strong> CARPET TILE (HALL). NANIMARQUINA:<\/strong> RUG (LOUNGE). DUNE:<\/strong> SOFA. DWR:<\/strong> ARMCHAIRS (LOUNGE), SWIVEL CHAIR (LOBBY). VITRA:<\/strong> COFFEE TABLES (LOUNGE, ALL-HANDS), CLUB CHAIRS (ALL-HANDS), CHAIRS (MEETING ROOMS), DESKS (OPEN OFFICE). CAESARSTONE:<\/strong> TABLE- TOP (ALL-HANDS). HUMANSCALE: <\/strong>TASK CHAIR (PRINCIPAL OFFICE). TUOHY FURNITURE:<\/strong> CUSTOM DESKS (OFFICES), ROUND TABLES (MEETING ROOMS). SOFTLINE:<\/strong> DRUM TABLE (LOBBY). CORIAN:<\/strong> TABLETOP (CONFERENCE ROOM). TSAR CARPETS:<\/strong> RUG. KEILHAUER:<\/strong> CHAIRS (CONFERENCE ROOM, FOUNDER OFFICE, OPEN OFFICE). RBW:<\/strong> SCONCE (NOOK). NORDIC KNOTS:<\/strong> GRAY RUG (FOUNDER OFFICE). FORT STANDARD:<\/strong> PENDANT FIXTURE. NEINKAMPER:<\/strong> TABLE. MAHARAM:<\/strong> GREEN RUG (FOUNDER OFFICE), WALLCOVERING. THROUGHOUT PORCELANOSA:<\/strong> FLOOR PLANKS. TEKNION:<\/strong> OFFICE FRONTS. BENJAMIN MOORE & CO.:<\/strong> PAINT. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n