A building within a skyscraper: the EssilorLuxottica headquarters in NY is a fluid environment bathed in light
In New York there is a skyscraper that contains an independent building − the new headquarters of EssilorLuxottica. The project internally joins three of the tower's thirty floors, creating a space where the dimensions of verticality and horizontality become a fluid and transparent path crossed by light.
When exiting the lift on the 18th floor of the tower designed by Brennan Beer Gorman Architects in Midtown, visitors are welcomed by the EssilorLuxottica reception with a view of the Empire State Building and the large scenic staircase that connects floors 16, 17 and 18.
Arranged around the skyscraper's wood-panelled core, the offices feature plenty of windows and follow the building's perimeter. This fluid and transparent environment is almost entirely open plan and houses about 300 workstations.
To ensure maximum comfort, the ceilings are treated with sound-absorbing panels covered with fabric, which integrate both linear and suspended lighting. The floor is covered with carpet.
Particular attention is paid to doors and windows, which are covered and embellished with burnished brass sheets, in harmony with the palette of the intervention's other materials, which is inspired by light, warm and natural colours.
The steel staircase is covered in burnished brass with steps in Caliza Capri stone, a type of light-coloured marble that also makes up the triple-height wall. Brightness and comfort welcome employees and guests into an environment in constant visual relationship with the urban landscape in which it is immersed.