Neal Beckstedt Studio Transforms a Beaux-Arts Building into a Modern Office

Ever since Neal Beckstedt opened his eponymous studio in 2010, he’s had the good fortune of working with creative clients like fashion designer Derek Lam and eyewear maven Robert Marc. Another is innovative entrepreneur Albert Sebag, who approached Beckstedt for help with “his office” one day in 2019.

“I thought he meant his personal office,” Beckstedt says with a laugh. What Sebag actually had in mind was new headquarters for Guidepoint, the information-age business he founded in 2003. Guidepoint is a matchmaker of sorts, connecting clients, specifically global companies, in need of specialized information with the experts that can provide it. Currently, some 3,500 clients in a broad spectrum of industries—from healthcare to TMT—have at their disposal a network of 1,250,000 authorities for virtual or in-person consultations of practically any size. Almost half of the company’s 1,100 international employees would be based in the facility. What Guidepoint needed from Beckstedt, then, was an open and transparent arrangement of work spaces for clients, advisors, and full-time staff. Efficiency and versatility were stated goals.

After a six-month search, Sebag and Beckstedt found the ideal site in Chelsea: the entire 38,000-square-foot second floor of 675 Avenue of the Americas, a landmarked beaux-arts stunner built in 1900 as the Adams Dry Goods department store. “It was a bit of a mess inside,” the designer acknowledges, “but it had beautiful columns, high ceilings, and tons of light—all on one level.” That the building incorporated a central atrium also helped with the layout. “Most offices of this scale are worms’ nests of dark corridors; the atrium allowed for a completely open plan flooded with natural light.”

After demolishing the many interior walls and partitions, Beckstedt went about creating a unique config­uration of work zones in a controlled materials palette that invokes Gotham’s loft-conversion aesthetic. “I wanted the design to be straightforward,” he explains. “It’s about elevating mundane building materials— plywood, metal mesh, stainless steel—so the environment is clean and modern with a streamlined element, but still warm and interesting in a way that isn’t boring or overpowering.”

Beckstedt’s sense of delight helped raise visual engagement. He left much of the original brick exposed and enlivened the palette of blacks, whites, grays, and beiges with shots of a hot yellow taken from Guidepoint’s logo. The designer even opted to keep a pink wall, daubed with a bit of whim­sical graffiti, which had been revealed when plasterboard was stripped away during demolition.

Most of Beckstedt’s custom pieces are modular, and much of the purchased FF&E is versatile, such as the adjustable-height workstations. He limited the selection of furniture, focusing on familiar mid-century pieces by the likes of Alvar Aalto, Charles and Ray Eames, and Mies van der Rohe. “It keeps things calm and consistent,” he notes. “So many offices try so hard to be interesting that they wind up with visual chaos.”

Beckstedt spent a great deal of his time developing the program, accommodating as many people as Guidepoint needed into the square footage. “The overall strategy was about being functional, about letting the function become the design,” he explains. “Ornamentation wasn’t going drive it, and that informed every decision, from the layout to not replacing missing sections of the crown molding. This project is about work and the history of the building and the city.”

Even the lobby, which stretches along a wall of commanding arched windows, is an interactive work space. “It’s not just a place for people to wait,” Beckstedt says. “It’s where team members can meet, use laptops, have a quick chat, or just take a break.” In theory and praxis, the genius loci at Guidepoint is connection.

facility solutions group: lighting consultant

lilker: mep

hollinger fine cabinetry: woodwork

mcnichols: metalwork

master’s upholstery: custom furniture workshop

b&b contracting group: general contractor

savel: sofa fabric (lobby)

chemetal: coffee table laminate

vitra: stools, side chairs (lobby, café)

fitzfelt: re­ception desk felt (ceo suite)

through merit: vintage desk

Patterson Flynn: rugs

empire office: conference chairs

knoll­textiles: armchair fabric (ceo suite), cushion fabric (training room)

dwr: armchairs (ceo suite), chairs (podcast studio, large conference room)

polygal: enclosure system (booths)

pinta acoustic: paneling (podcast studio)

Kohler: sink fittings (restroom)

knoll: workstations, task chairs (office, office area)

bernhardt; camira fabrics; designtex; febrik; hbf textiles; luum textiles; maharam; pollack: cushion fabric (training room)

ann sacks: floor tile

stark: carpet

laminart: tabletop laminate

bartco; coronet; delray lighting; liteline: lighting

benjamin moore & co.: paint

MetroWall: Glass partitions

Bates Masi + Architects and David Kleinberg Design Associates Create a Contemporary East Hampton Estate

2022 Best of Year Winner for Beach House

Well before the East End of Long Island, New York, became known for shingle-style mega mansions, its residential vernacular was the saltbox, a simple two-story volume with a gable roof that comes closer to the ground in the back than in the front. Bates Masi + Architects decided it was the right form to give a new 11,450-square-foot weekend house for a couple and their family on a large plot of land in East Hampton. The clients asked for three semi-attached buildings, one for themselves and one each for their grown children (and their future progeny). Firm principal and Interior Design Hall of Fame member Paul Masi gravitated to the saltbox shape, so that the structures would feel protected from the elements in the back but wide open in the front, where the higher rooflines accommodate two stories of windows, all offering spectacular Atlantic Ocean views.

Masi’s other big move was to arrange the three pavilions in an L-shape, which provides a sense of enclosure around the yard and swimming pool. The saltboxes are joined by glass connectors, but only at ground level; each has its own staircase to second-floor bedrooms and baths. The architect relied almost entirely on five materials: cedar, which clads most of the exterior; oak, for much of the interior; limestone, for floors, countertops, terraces, and some external walls; darkened bronze, for various kinds of trim; and, of course, glass. “We had to limit the palette because the house is so big,” Masi explains. “You lose the essence of it if there’s too much going on.” This ethos harks back to the early 1980s, when firm founder and fellow Hall of Famer Harry Bates—now 94 and retired—built modest beach houses out of whatever he could find in local lumber yards, a necessary discipline that became part of the firm’s DNA. When Masi joined Bates in 1998, he began devising ways to keep things simple even as clients demanded more and more luxury.

This couple, intending that the property becomes a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation, wanted to make sure it would last. That was fine with Masi, who thought in centuries rather than decades while designing it. “We put a lot of redundancy into the building envelope,” he explains, noting that the house is sheathed in two layers of shingle-like boards with gutters and leaders sandwiched between them to keep water away from the weathertight shell. The cedar is fastened to the structure with custom stainless-steel clips that don’t penetrate the wood, avoiding the damage nails or screws could cause the boards when they expand and contract.

The architect didn’t make things easy for himself. Exterior walls and roofs, identically clad, meet without even a whiff of an overhang. Exposing the transition from one surface to another means there’s nowhere to hide even the smallest flaw. “It’s harder than it looks to pull that off,” Masi admits. “Everything has to be perfect.” That includes four “light chimneys,” his term for a series of massive bronze-clad skylights that project through the roof. They ensure light “cascades down through the stairwells,” he continues, an effect that’s enhanced by open-tread staircases hanging on thin vertical steel-and-oak struts that descend from the second-floor ceiling. The stairwells double as ideally illuminated display areas for larger pieces of art (the couple are passionate collectors). And where the house turns a 90-degree angle, the nearly cubic 18-by-18-foot glass-enclosed connector space serves as a sculpture gallery. Delicate cedar-slat screens provide necessary shade, while large, operable windows make it easy getting lage artworks in and out of the space.

The clients brought in Interior Design Hall of Fame member David Kleinberg to furnish the house. The founding partner of David Kleinberg Design Associates, who has worked on multiple residences for the same couple before, softened the vast main living area with a custom beige wool rug. Much of the furniture is upholstered in shades of gray, including custom club chairs and sofas and a pair of French 1950’s oak lounge chairs. The seating is gathered around two Fredrikson Stallard cast-acrylic coffee tables that sit on the rug like massive chunks of ice. A patinated-bronze and polished-copper suspended light sculpture by Niamh Barry adds a note of drama overhead.

But Kleinberg has no desire to hog credit for this house. “It’s clear that architecture was the highest priority,” he notes. “The artworks were second in importance. And then came the furnishings, which were to be laid back, relaxed, and supportive of the architecture and art.” What Kleinberg doesn’t mention is that many of the pieces he has so carefully curated could well become heirlooms in their own right.

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katherine dalene weil, nick darin, nick braaksma, hung fai tang: bates masi + architects

lance duckett scott: david kleinberg design associates

orsman design: lighting consultant

steven maresca: structural engineer

men at work construction: general contractor

awg art advisory: art consultant

perry guillot: landscape consultant

maison gerard: oak lounge chairs, light sculpture (living area)

david gill gallery: coffee tables

Patterson Flynn: custom rug

joseph walsh studio: custom table (dining area)

victoria + albert: tub (bathroom)

apparatus: pendant fixtures (kitchen)

wolf: range (kitchen)

vent-a-hood: ventilation hood

sub-zero: refrigerator

bernd goeckler: glass table (sculpture gallery)

bybee stone company: limestone flooring and cladding

Keller Minimal Windows: windows and doors

On the Move: Top Promotions and Hires in the Industry

See who is on the move in the world of architecture and design.

Material Bank

Philippe Brocart has resigned as managing director of Maison&Object and will join Material Bank effective March 11, 2022. The interim managing director will be Philippe Delhomme who is chairman of the board at SAFI, until a new managing director is hired. 

Nelson Worldwide

Bevan Bloemendaal has been appointed retail practice leader at Nelson Worldwide. Bloemendaal is a brand storytelling expert who brings over 20 years of experience in the industry and will work closely with Nelson leadership to manage business growth and build upon the strong foundation of the retail practice. Prior to joining Nelson, Bloemendaal served as the vice president of global retail experience and creative services at the Timberland Co.

Perkins&Will

Perkins&Will’s Dallas Studio has announced the promotion of John Strasius as corporate, commercial, civic practice leader. Strasius, who has been with the firm for over 17 years, will lead several project types across the corporate, commercial, and civic sectors, including libraries, city hall buildings, public safety facilities, corporate headquarters, office buildings, and hospitality spaces. 

Additionally, the firm has appointed a new managing director and operations director in the Denver studio. Ernest Joyner has stepped into the role of managing director, and Jeff Chermely has become operations director. Joyner succeeds Andy Barnard, who served as managing director since 2017 and as president of Sink Combs Dethlefs since 2009. Barnard will retire this spring. Chermely, who succeeds Joyner as operations director, previously served as a senior project manager in the Denver studio. He has been with the firm since 2005.

The Chicago studio of Perkins&Will has announced the promotion of Mike Reinhart as practice leader for corporate interiors. He joined the firm in 1997, and is an expert at managing teams, developing strong client relationship management, and leading some of the most technologically complex projects. Additionally, Brent Ross has been named practice leader for sports, recreation, and entertainment. He joined the firm in 2017 through the merger with Sink Combs Dethlefs.

PYR

Amy Jakubowski, who for 30 years has designed some of the world’s most luxurious places for iconic hospitality brands, has joined French interior design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR) as managing director based in the firm’s Chicago office. Jakubowski oversees PYR’s client engagement and business strategy in North America and Asia, working in concert with the firm’s flagship studio in Paris—including the company’s founder, Pierre-Yves Rochon. She is the first woman to serve as managing director at the firm.

Premier

Premier, the an end-to-end design, procurement, and project management services firm, announced the promotions of Abby Shehan as design director and Leslie Wynne as design manager. Shehan and Wynne, previously served as senior designer and senior interior designer respectively.

Nemo Tile + Stone

Provider of surfacing materials Nemo Tile + Stone has announced new appointments on the sales team. The company recently hired Lester Gassert, who joins the team in the role of vice president of sales, along with Liza Harper, in the role of sales support manager. Both bring a unique set of skills and unique industry experience. 

Ware Malcomb

Francisco Arias has been promoted to studio manager, design in Ware Malcomb’s Los Angeles office. He will help lead the design studio, which supports all of Ware Malcomb’s offices. Arias joined the firm in 2019 as senior project designer in the firm’s Los Angeles office. He has more than 13 years of architectural design and master planning expertise and is well-versed in a variety of project types, including retail-based mixed-use developments, industrial, low- and high-rise office buildings, film studios, and healthcare facilities.

Additionally, Amanda Sanabria has been promoted to studio manager, advanced manufacturing in the firm’s Vaughan, Ontario office. Sanabria has more than 20 years of architectural experience, including significant experience leading industrial, retail, multifamily and data center projects from programming and design through completion. She joined Ware Malcomb in 2019 as a project architect.

HOK

Gavin McLachlan has rejoined HOK as the regional leader for HOK’s healthcare group in Canada, based in Toronto. He previously worked at the firm from 2009-2012. His project experience includes mental health hospitals, children’s treatment centers, ambulatory care centers and acute healthcare facilities across Canada. 

Additionally, Keith Hui has rejoined HOK as the regional leader for the Aviation + Transportation (A+T) group in the Pacific Northwest region, based in Seattle. He brings more than 25 years of experience planning and designing airport terminals and support buildings across the glob and previously worked with HOK from 2008-2016. Luke Bridle has joined the A+T group has director of transportation. Bridle, based in New York, brings more than 20 years of experience designing and planning mass transit and rail station projects across the globe, including work at Penn Station and Grand Central Station in New York City and at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, India.

Dyer Brown

Boston-based national architecture and interiors firm Dyer Brown is continuing to expand since opening a satellite headquarters in Atlanta nearly five years ago. To support continuing growth, Katie Moulder has joined the firm as an interior designer and project manager. She brings significant experience in workplace and hospitality plus familiarity with industrial projects. 

HLW

HLW has expanded its leadership team with the addition of Xiaoxuan Peng as director of building information modeling and computational design. He brings multidisciplinary experience with both technology and architecture. His leadership will help drive data-informed decisions and develop sustainable and accessible solutions.

USModernist

USModernist, a digital archive for modernist residential architecture, has appointed Michela O’Connor Abrams as chief advancement officer. Abrams is the former CEO of Dwell Media. The appointment marks the non-profit’s transition from a volunteer-based startup into a national cultural organization with full-time staff.

Monograph

Monograph, a practice operations platform for design professionals, announced the hiring of Ernie Miller as its new head of engineering. Miller, who has 20 years of experience as an engineering leader, will play a critical part in ensuring the Monograph program runs smoothly as the firm continues toward its goal of revolutionizing how architectural projects are managed.

JCJ Architecture

The nationally ranked planning, architecture, and interior design firm JCJ Architecture has announced a new slate of promotions. Amy (Harrell) Hull, Randall Hull, Sharmista Mitra-Kelly, and Jeanne Muscolino have been promoted to principal. Additionally, Chris A. Boldt; Grace E. Fabian; Marek Falkowski; Larry Sassi; and Danae Tinsley have been promoted to senior associate. Michelle Chapman; David Hubbard; Jordan Kazmierczak; Megan Lamontagne; Dustin Lombardi; Sean Pendley; Emma Plagemann; Lisa St. Amand; and Brian Stone have been promoted to associate. 

Moore & Giles

Moore & Giles announced a transition of leadership with the naming of Tray Petty as the company’s new president. Petty joined Moore & Giles in 1994 and has served in a variety of roles, most recently as executive vice president. Outgoing president Sackett Wood will remain with Moore & Giles in his role as chief executive officer.

Colberg Architecture

Colberg Architecture, a leading Brooklyn-based architect and design firm has appointed Kelly Collini to principal. Collini has over two decades of experience creating award-winning environments in New York City and beyond. Previously, Ms. Collini was an associate at Gensler, where she worked since 2005 as a senior design manager and a global account leader for WPP Group and Duff and Phelps.

Parsons

The New School’s Parsons School of Design today announced that Michele Gorman, assistant professor of interiors, objects, and technology at Parsons, has been appointed director of the MFA Interior Design program in the School of Constructed Environments at Parsons. She will oversee one of the country’s top interior design programs, which is housed within Parsons. Gorman is a designer and technologist who has designed and built a number of award-winning objects, exhibitions, and spaces, and is committed to addressing social and environmental justice within the profession and academy.

Leo A Daly

Pablo J. Quintana joins Leo A Daly as national interior design leader for workplace. He is a fourth-generation architect and interior designer and renowned workplace designer with 30 years of experience. Past work includes projects with Google, IBM, and Microsoft. He joins the firm from Stantec, where he served as design principal since 2002. 

//3877

Washington D.C.-based architecture and design firm //3877 has welcomed interior designer Jeffrey White to its team. White has degrees in both historic preservation and interior design and strongly believes in the value of adaptive reuse. He once held the Guinness World Record for “The Longest Chain of Staples Individually Connected” coming in at just under 800 feet. 

The Rug Company

The Rug Company announced the appointment of Andrew B. Cogan as chairman of the company’s board of directors and will join the board effective January 2022. Andrew Cogan served more than 30 years as the chairman & CEO of Knoll Inc, where he helped engineer the sale of Knoll, Inc. to Herman Miller.

Trex Commercial

Trex Commercial, a leading national provider of architectural railing systems, has expanded its U.S. sales force with the appointment of two new regional sales representatives. Michael Angelo Scalze and Kyle Jorgenson will share responsibility for the Midwest region, reporting to Tim White, vice president of sales for Trex Commercial.

Stonehill Taylor

Stonehill Taylor has announced promotions across the ranks of its interior design and architecture practices. The promotions are: Paul Weremchuk, Antonino Scarapaci, and Stephanie Liu to associate principal; Hiten Gandhi to senior associate; Adam Blatner to associate; Bethany Gale and DeeDee Sanchez to senior interiors associate; Wally Aubuchon, Katie Cole, and Marinda Thomas to interiors associate, and Tao Shizhen to senior interior designer.

CNY Group

New York City-based construction and development services firm CNY Group CNY Group has hired Elroy L. Pierre as project executive. Pierre has worked across the New York metropolitan area for over 20 years and has expertise in the construction trade. 

Main Street Hospitality

Main Street Hospitality has announced the appointment of Scott Williams to its dynamic leadership team as the new vice President of brand & creative. Most recently Williams was the president of The Nantucket Project and is the founder of growth advisory Hitchcock Partners. Prior to hospitality he worked in television at CBS, ESPN and HBO.

Patterson Flynn

F. Schumacher & Co. has promoted Pamela Marshall to creative director of Patterson Flynn. She will oversee product design and development as well as marketing and visual merchandising. Marshall will transition from her current role as VP of design and development at Schumacher starting on January 31, 2022.

Framery

Workplace industry pioneer Framery has announced the addition of head of digital offerings and services Arto Vahvanen. Vahvanen’s position marks the launch of a new department for the brand. He has worked in both technology and product management roles, most recently as vice president of product at the software company M-Files.

FCA

FCA, a leading New York and Philadelphia-based architecture and design firm, has acquired legacy firm Fred M. Humphrey & Associates. Fred M. Humphrey & Associates was formed by the husband and wife team of Roseann Latta and Fred Humphrey in 1974. They have served a large clientele of Florida-based health systems over the last several decades, with over 30 years of first round project approvals from AHCA (Agency for Health Care Administration).

BassamFellows

Amy Pisansky has joined furniture & design house BassamFellows as director of sales. 

Arper

Roberto Monti has joined Arper as its new CEO effective January 24, 2022. He will join the board of directors and will lead the definition and development of the company’s strategic growth plans. Monti worked at IKEA from 1990 to 2017, holding positions of increasing responsibility in leadership roles as a member of the global management group. From 2014 to 2017, he was President of IKEA Concept, and currently he is senior advisor & board member for corporate and non-profit organizations. 

Page & Turnbull

National architecture, preservation and planning firm Page & Turnbull is announcing a new leader, Peter Birkholz, and the debut of its fourth office, opening in San Jose. Birkholz is a 40-year veteran of the architecture and preservation professions known widely for his expertise in prime and preservation architecture on a variety of building types, as well as in materials conservation, planning, and cultural resource assessments.

Keast & Hood

Philadelphia-based structural engineering firm Keast & Hood has announced the transition to its third generation of ownership. Denise Richards and John Davis assumed full ownership of the firm with Ms. Richards as the majority shareholder. 

ICRAVE

Miami and NYC-based innovation and design firm ICRAVE announced that Robert Ashton will be the company’s new chief operating officer. He previously  served as executive vice president of the Ian Schrager Company, where he was managing director for the EDITION lifestyle hotels. Prior to joining the Ian Schrager Company, Robert served as managing principal of the Rockwell Group.

Tangram

Tangram has appointed Amber Jones as vice president of sales at the company’s new regional headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Jones will continue to run both the Los Angeles and Dallas Fort-Worth teams as vice president, while relocating to Dallas. Jones, who has been with the company for eight years, has served as vice president of sales since 2018 and as director of education.

ALVIC

ALVIC USA, an award-winning manufacturer of cabinet doors and panels for residential and commercial projects, has announced its appointment of Tobias Pagel as CEO. He will be the company’s first CEO. Pagel has held numerous executive positions in the construction materials, logistics, and heavy equipment training industries, in addition to having started his own company. 

The Turett Collaborative 

NYC-based architecture and design firm The Turett Collaborative, known for its leadership in Passive House design and construction, has welcomed two new partners—James Saisakorn and Alex Nizhikhovskiy. They join founder Wayne Turett, director of interior design Jessica Shaw, and partner Simeon Seigel. Saisakorn joined TTC in 2004 after studying architecture at the Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne. Nizhikhovskiy, a graduate of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, previously spent five years as a junior designer at Montoya-Rodriquez Architects + Planners before joining TTC.

B+H

George Foussias has joined global design and consulting firm B+H as part of its interior design practice. He will work out of the firm’s Toronto studio as director of interior design and senior associate. Foussias brings over 20 years of experience across the commercial, mixed-use, hospitality, residential, and retail sectors, and he has led innovative and award-winning projects for the world’s most recognized brands including W Hotels, Virgin hotels, Four Seasons, Wolfgang Puck, Great Gulf, Alterra, Tridel, Samsung and Audi.

Hubbardton Forge

Lighting manufacturer Hubbardton Forge has announced recent staff hires and promotions in key roles within the company. They are Eric Hannon to vice president of information technology, Margaret Dugan to vice president of human resources, Nate Carr to chief of staff, Hal Brown to engineering manager, Maggie Brown to senior project manager, and Max Pfiffner to visual merchandiser.