New York studio Civilian has designed a headquarters for a documentary production company in Manhattan's Flatiron district, featuring an Art Deco-influenced screening room.
Award winning offices Sandbox movies Housed in a 1920s neo-Gothic high-rise, they provide the company with its first dedicated workspace.
Spread over 4,200 square feet (390 square meters), the project includes an open-plan reception area that doubles as an event space, a conference room, private and open offices, and production and editing rooms.
There is also a 22-seat screening room with a Dolby Atmos sound system, where the team and their audience can preview cuts that have been completed or are in progress.
The non-profit documentary production company produces cinematic science films, many of which have been or have been nominated for prestigious awards.
Among them are Fire of Love, nominated for Best Documentary at the 95th Academy Awards in 2022; Emmy-winning Bathom; Sundance winner All Light, Anywhere; and Fireball, co-directed by Werner Herzog.
„Impressed [our] The space was informed by the clientele's love for the craft of storytelling, the opulent but intimate early movie houses of Stockholm and Amsterdam, Art Deco cinemas, the architectural color gestures of Danish modernist designer Paul Henningsen, and the grandeur of a vanished world. Said by the Broadway address of the Interwar New York project Citizen.
The reception area wraps around a circular stone-topped bar that defines the staff pantry area by day and can be used to serve food and drinks for events.
„With an active roster of screenings, events and residency programs for independent filmmakers, the space serves as an office and center of attraction for New York's nonfiction film community,” the group said.
A custom double-sided, Pierre Chareau-inspired boucle and velvet sofa sits opposite a pair of refined Milo Boughman swivel chairs.
Marquee lights are installed in rows to the sides of the existing ceiling beams, and additional sconces are mounted on the plastered pantry wall.
The structural columns are covered with travertine cladding to highlight the entrances between the different spaces.
On either side of the reception, glass panels and acoustic partitions with mint-green frames surround a bright conference room and a private office.
Anchoring the conference room is a custom-made meeting table with a solid gray frame and high-gloss curved lacquer top, flanked by vintage Tobia Scarpa sling chairs.
From the living room, a neon-lit burgundy door leads into the screening room, where three tiers of seats face a screen as large as a mini movie theater.
Cushioned seats are upholstered in soft powder-blue fabric, which contrasts with walnut wainscoting and sound-absorbing brown wool wall panels.
Each chair has a separate armrest table for placing drinks or writing notes, complete with a small light created in collaboration with Lambert et Fils.
Also private offices, sound-proof editing rooms and an open workspace are accessed via a narrow L-shaped corridor.
In the communal work area, sit-stand tables have white oak divider panels and are topped with a stone edge for displaying objects and plants.
„This project, from its iconic Broadway location to historic theater architecture, has given us the opportunity to create an elevated and layered space that supports Sandbox's work to elevate documentary talent, drawing from many inspiring references,” said Civilian Go. – Founder Ksenia Gagner.
„We felt it was important to respond to the changing priorities of the modern workplace by creating open, multi-purpose spaces that foster interaction and foster a sense of community,” he added.
Civilian was founded in 2018 by Kagner and Nicko Elliott, and the designers have completed projects ranging from transforming Detroit's historic Book Depository into the headquarters of tech company Newlab to renovating a historic Bed-Stuy townhouse.
Photographer Chris Motalini.
Project Credits:
Customer: Sandbox Movies (Simons Foundation)
Customer Representative: Cushman and Wakefield
Civic Purpose: Interior design, creative direction, furniture design
Architect of record: LP Architects
Mechanical Engineer: WB Engineers
AV Engineer: Spectrum
Acoustic Engineer: WSDG
Production Studio Consultant: Tom Paul
Contractor: L&K Partners
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