Design is personal, not clinical. This concept is the reason offices (and all things with an original design intent) don’t look or feel the same. When separate design teams work together on a project, smooth sailing is not a given. But design collaboration – specifically between two separate firms – can yield fantastic end results.
The Bloc, a super progressive Manhattan-based creative agency focusing on the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, needed new offices. As a husband and wife duo, The Bloc founders Susan Viray Miller and Rico Viray wanted to sharpen their company’s brand and unify their team under one roof.
“In their previous space, the character of their brand was not well defined,” said Olivier Wilkins, project manager at The Mufson Partnership. “They wanted to achieve unity and provide a clear branding experience that responds to their clients’ needs. We wanted to find a design direction that complements who the owners are.”
To design their new space, The Bloc founders turned to two sources: Fauzia Khanani, principal of Foz Design, and The Mufson Partnership.
A close friend of the client, Ms. Khanani had previously designed a home in upstate New York for the Virays’. When The Bloc project began to take shape, the Virays sought out Ms. Khanani’s design expertise as well as her knowledge of their company, despite her limited experience in commercial projects.”
“She has such a good understanding of the client, and she really transformed her limited knowledge of corporate environments into an amazing source of creativity,” said Mr. Wilkins. “Being independent of that corporate environment elevated the project to a new level.”
Knowing the client – really understanding its culture, its makeup, and its people – is of immeasurable value to both the design team and to the client itself.
“I’ve seen them build this company, and I see the distinctions between The Bloc and other companies,” said Ms. Khanani. “They pride themselves on being “un-corporate” in an industry that often feels very corporate, and I wanted to give their office a sense of that.”
For their part, The Mufson Partnership brought extensive experience with commercial office space build-outs to the team. Mufson served as the Architect of Record, conducting visioning sessions with each of The Bloc’s departments; collaborating with Foz Design on tailoring specific spatial design elements; and providing construction administration.
The Bloc’s previous offices were located in two separate locations in Midtown, Manhattan, but the company ventured south to the Financial District for its new home. The new neighborhood had a profound impact on the design inspiration, particularly in aesthetics for The Bloc’s new offices near the edge of the East River.
“This space is a nod to the water and the views, to the revitalization of the Financial District, and to the history and character of Downtown, its industrial forms, and to the mercantile industry that begin there,” noted Ms. Khanani.
This industrial, mercantile and marine context inspired the project’s materials, finishes, product selections, and the design of custom components. The new offices are loft-like, uncomplicated, sculptural and relaxed.
“It’s a design that belongs where it is,” added Mr. Wilkins. “At first, they were a little uneasy about the idea of going all the way downtown. But little by little, as the design of the space came out, they were very pleased.“
All of The Bloc’s project teams work closely together, and they wanted their new offices to foster even more collaboration between their accounts-oriented and creative teams.
Ms. Khanani designed an open plan around the concept of layering three distinct sections of the workplace, denoted by three distinct elevations:
>Raised platforms with private offices and conference rooms
>Workstations in an open plan
>Informal meeting spaces on the perimeter
A custom wood bench system lies on the perimeter of the of the space and provides stadium seating for companywide meetings; its undulating forms serve as a reflection of the East River’s currents and the mercantile piers and boardwalks.
“The ability in that bench for people to sit in different positions is really cool,” said Ms. Khanani. “The way the bench undulates accommodates sitting in a loungy, leaning back position, and also in a higher, more straight back position.”
The Bloc also wanted to leave the views of the East River and beyond unobstructed for all to experience. Prime real estate along the window walls was given to pantries, bar-height seating, and the benches and low lounge furniture along the perimeter for informal meetings.
“The benches have the best views to the exterior. We wanted to bring democracy to those spaces.”
Because of the raised platform concept at the building’s core, the design team had to find a way to integrate ADA ramps into the design; instead of simply installing the required ramps, Foz and Mufson build them around small enclosed lounge rooms.
“This was possibly the first time in my career that we used these requirements to our advantage,” noted Mr. Wilkins. “We treated the ramps as an opportunity and developed them into really amazing collaborative spaces that normally would have been dead spaces.”
The Bloc’s offices include many forms of formal and informal meeting spaces on the entire 15th floor and half of the 16th floor. Designed for 222 occupants, including future growth, the new space includes 22 private offices; 174 workstations; 24 workspaces for IT, multimedia studio and freelance workers; and space for two receptionists. 
The 16th floor is home to the Finance, Multimedia, and Graphics groups. And while the 15th floor has desirable high ceilings, the 16th floor did not.
“One of our biggest challenges was to make the 16th floor as attractive as the 15th,” said Mr. Wilkins.
The design team outfitted the 16th floor with its own pantry and tons of tech for the multimedia and graphics teams. In the Multimedia Studio, team members have access to a filming and photography studio, recording booth and mixing studio for putting together advertisements and other projects for clients. Adjacent to that space is the Graphics Studio, which the Graphics team uses for print production. 
The Bloc team did not want their work areas to look like typical workstations, so Ms. Khanani and Mufson worked hard to find a manufacturer who was willing to work with them to design something highly customized and more organic. They ended up with a Teknion workstation with raw steel paneling for most of the exterior paneling and solid oak wood desktops; the mix of materials hints at the neighborhood’s industrial history.
“They wanted workstations that were a little more creative and more informal, rather than the rigid, corporate solutions that are modern but don’t allow for employees to have any privacy. We focused heavily on our use of materials and the configuration of how we laid them out to create that different feel.”
Ms. Khanani selected lighting designs with funky hotel lounge vibes, with sub-vibes of everything from fun and playful chandeliers to artistic and sculptural pendant lighting.
“The space already has amazing daylighting, and between that and the light provided by all of the digital screens in the office, we ended up being able to choose more low-lighting designs,” said Ms. Khanani. “If there’s too much light in an office, then the lighting won’t be turned on and actually used.”
The Bloc’s new offices show the better face of what design collaboration can be. The space is inspiring in a way that doesn’t compromise on creativity or sophistication, but champions both.