Closter Office

Closter, New Jersey

3,000SF.

This space, rented by a dental clinic network, (owned by a venture capital firm), to serve as the head quarters, formerly was used as a metal workshop. The building was cluttered with equipment, oil drums, and had no internal partitions. It included 2,300-square-foot ground-level space with an additional 700 square feet upstairs, accessible only via an exterior staircase

The ceiling was ranging in heights from 10-12 ft.

Besides the limitations of accessing the second floor, the primary concern was that the space was previously used for steelworks. Equipment and oils were still stored in the building, and it was one large open space with no subdivision. The clients asked for a few personal offices, open space desks, break room with a kitchen, dining space, and a lounge. In addition, a conference room with a side kitchenette, another lounge and restrooms

The plan required addition of plumbing infrastructure to enable restrooms and hot water heater; electrical rewiring; installation of central AC unit in the open space and separate AC for the offices. New windows and front door were part of the scope.

Due to the limited exposure of external windows, we chose to have internal windows and glass doors to demonstrate transparency, create a sense of sharing, and allow light to come through the space and enable eye-contact across the employees and leaders in the office. We dropped the ceiling to give the space more warmth.

The style selected was light industrial, connecting to the history of the space. The brick walls were painted white and black metal elements were incorporated throughout, including the spiral staircase added to connect the two floors without requiring anyone to step outside. On the second floor we located the conference room and adjacent kitchenette, alongside a lounge area. Additional black metal is showing in the window and door frames, including the internal ones, the light fixtures, hooks in the kitchen area, and those in the offices.

The AC ducts remained exposed, as did the tubes of electrical wiring. To add color, we leverage the pallets of the company logo and used shades of green, blue and gray.

The same style and design esthetics were kept also in the mezzanine level that includes conference area, lounge, kitchenette and dining area.

Before:

Contractor: Pawel Siek

Kitchen: Quality Kitchen and Bath

Photography: Alex Staniloff