Design Republic is a place where many creative minds meet. The New York City architectural and interior design firm was started in 2010 by six founding partners. And that’s a lot of seats at the top table – but for six buddies who climbed the ranks together, it makes complete sense.
At the time Design Republic opened its doors in 2010, the interiors industry was still regaining lost ground from the Great Recession.
The six founding partners – Barry Ludlow, Gabe Hernandez, Inga Kruliene, Neil Tucker, Steven Segure, and Vincent Iacobellis – had worked together for many years at TPG Architecture and later joined CallisonRTKL (then Callison), where they were responsible for building up that firm’s New York office starting in 2007 until the recession hit.
Today the firm operates out of a single office in NYC, and is 50 people wide, which they’ve found is just the right size.
“At our previous firms, we saw ourselves entering more into the management level, rather than continuing the work designers do every day,” said Ludlow. “We all wanted to get back into designing day-to-day, and so it started with the six of us working together and finding any free space we could – coffee shops and such. We had a client at 450 Park Avenue who owned the building and was very kind to us with rent. In our first year, we expanded to close to 20 people.”
With six designers starting the firm, the initials in a law firm style name were stacking up. One of the founders, Inga Kruliene, had grown up in Lithuania under communist control. Her idea for the Design Republic name was the perfect fit.
“We were free from the restrictions of our previous firms. We came from global firms, and with that size, there were more roadblocks and politics. Back in 2006 and 2007, the six of us had been talking and strategizing, but then we were recruited by Callison. In 2010, we saw the opportunity to start our own firm. We wanted to create something new and different. We finally said it was time to do it.”
Then, six or seven years ago, Design Republic moved to its current offices at 501 Madison.
“Staying around 45-50 people – that more boutique size – is by choice,” Ludlow continued. “The six of us really wanted to be very hands-on, very engaged in all of the firm’s work, and that size allows us to do so.”
When speaking and working with Design Republic, there’s a sense of comfort there that draws on the partners’ collective combination of innate hustle, down-to-earth demeanor, and the reassurance that they can help their clients make the impossible, possible.
“We grew up together throughout our careers,” said Ludlow. “And we’ve become very close friends over the years, taking ski trips together and having cookouts. It feels unique to have such a strong bond together with the people you work with.”
Design Republic’s portfolio of clients is lengthy – a testament to the hustle that is a big part of their identity.
“When we started the firm, we wanted to put forth a high, high level of commitment to client service,” Ludlow said. “We work really hard, and we wanted to be known for that. We also wanted to offer a high level of trust and communication.”
The workplace is Design Republic’s largest work sector, followed by luxury retail spaces. The firm also does quite a bit of work in the media and entertainment sector, in designing both offices and technical spaces, i.e. studios. Clients include Conde Nast, Yelp, The Daily Show, Convene, Nasdaq, Cushman & Wakefield, Bleacher Report, Aon, among many others.
“Our design philosophy is very people-centered. We strive to create really uplifting spaces that people want to come to – places that create a sense of belonging.
“We tailor our process to what we need to find out about the client, and each one is different,” said Jessica Mazur, senior associate at Design Republic. “You follow a similar process, but there are always going to be different paths you take depending on what you learn about the client.”
In its work for Take-Two Interactive, a leading video game publisher, the challenge lay in location.
“For the Take 2 project, we started with a visioning process, then interviewed the CEO, then the department heads, and finally the end employees,” said Mazur, the creative lead on the Take 2 project. We presented them with our findings on what they wanted from their space. In Manhattan, they were moving from SOHO to Midtown, and one of the challenges was in getting people excited about the move to Midtown. The way we translated their identity into a space to elevate their brand was going to be really important to the success of the project. In their new Midtown offices, their space was a complete reflection of who they are.”
At the root of the Design Republic ethos is a deep discovery process.
“We want to make sure we align with our client’s business sense, their needs – but also with their aspirations,” said Ludlow. “Many of our projects are very transformational for our clients. It’s a growing experience for them – something that leads them to their future. We want to develop a deep understanding of their business, and the way we do that is by having these searching conversations with our clients from many levels of their organization. Above all else, we create environments that are about our clients, and not about us.”