Adapting and Upcycling

For over 18 years, since his days at Dallek, Marc has been helping this well established Manhattan investment management firm furnish their offices. They have an impeccable reputation for recognizing value and opportunity in the financial markets and realizing great appreciation for their client’s portfolios. This value philosophy carries through to their corporate office environment. Marc respects and understands this approach and, by working with them, has prioritized high value, good quality, and little waste when making their office furniture purchases.

The firm, together with Marc, has applied this same approach for the firm’s recent expansion and office relocation project. After occupying the same corporate offices on Madison Avenue for close to three decades, it was time for a change. A disjointed floor plan, outdated infrastructure, the overall tired look of the existing space, and an expanding staff necessitated a search for new space. They found it on 2 high floors, totaling approximately 40,000 square feet, on Park Avenue in the 50’s, with spectacular city views, providing ample space to house its 140 partners and employees. They retained Watson & Associates, a longtime collaborator, for their architectural services and expertise.

ADAPT

The previous tenant left behind about 60 Steelcase executive offices. The cherry wood workstations provide ample storage, and the client realized that they would work well for many of the firm’s partners and associates. As this was a complex logistical project, they retained 3D Office Furniture + Design to assist in the coordination of the reusing of existing office furniture and for the purchase of new office furniture.  Marc and the firm opted to upcycle the existing furniture at the new office by refinishing, adapting and rearranging it.

…and UPCYCLE

The first step was to disassemble all of the existing workstations and move them, along with about 100 visitors chairs and 100 bookcases, to the basement storage space at the Park Avenue site. After the construction was completed, 3D Office Furniture + Design reassembled and installed the workstations on the two newly renovated floors. During this process, 3D custom modified the stations to accommodate each new user. The office furniture was refinished, every door and drawer was inspected and confirmed to be in perfect working order, each drawer was properly keyed, and new LED under counter lighting was installed for state of the art energy efficiency. Presto! Like-new office furniture, satisfying the needs of each executive—upcycling proved to be a tremendous cost savings!

WITH A FEW NEW PIECES FOR GOOD MEASURE

Additionally, many of the firm’s partners had purchased quality office furniture over the years from Marc. Much of that existing office furniture was moved to the new space as well. 3D Office Furniture + Design coordinated this move and supplemented the existing office furniture with matching pieces as requested by each partner for his or her new office.

The space reflects the firm’s corporate culture in that it is understated and elegant. By engaging in a responsible use of resources, the firm generated little waste and lowered its moving costs. The client has beautiful new Park Avenue headquarters that will serve the firm for many years – a true enduring value.