Architecture studio Snarkitecture has updated the New York offices of legal firm Jayaram Law, adding elements with wavy cutouts and furniture from a new collection with Made By Choice.
The overhaul of Jayaram’s 3,800-square-foot (353-square-metre) space in Manhattan’s Flatiron District forms part of the company’s artist residency program and continues a longstanding relationship with Snarkitecture.
The studio, founded by artist Daniel Arsham and architect Alex Mustonen, reimagined the offices as a collaborative space for creative work and made multiple interventions to the layout.
“Our approach was to unify the space and create a layout emphasising openness, flexibility, and scattered moments of reflection and privacy,” said the team.
A key decision involved bringing warmth to the industrial-style space, which features exposed ceilings and concrete tile flooring.
This was achieved by introducing wood, acoustic panels, rugs, curtains, and upholstered pieces “that added more comfort and softness to the space”.
At one end of the floor plan, Snarkitecture built a room using a simple wooden framework to create a library and display area.
“One of our key design moves is reinterpreting the ubiquitous stud wall as an elevated millwork piece,” the team said.
The semi-enclosed space, named the Record Room, has a window that looks onto the open-plan workspace and is accessed via a portal with a continuous wavy outline.
“We wanted this room to feel unexpected and immersive, thus creating a theme around a ‘Listening Lounge’, featuring an environment with wood shelvings, a record player, and vinyl records,” Snarkitecture said. “Its shelves also host archival items, publications, design objects, and ephemera from Snarkitecture and Jayaram.”
Other stud-wall elements with amorphous cutouts form moveable display cases and room dividers, used particularly to define a central lounge known as The Commons.
Wavy edges are also found on the Autex acoustic panels hung vertically in rows from the white-painted ceiling above the seating area.
“It is a comfortable spot with low lounge seating, lush greenery, and an area rug that creates a space for collective gatherings and intimate conversations,” said Snarkitecture.
On either side, communal workspaces with 15-foot (4.6-metre) custom birch plywood tables accommodate 24 to 32 people.
Along the perimeter is a glass-fronted conference room that was created by combining three private offices into one space.
Built-in millwork provides a TV niche for conferencing and stores general office supplies, while a curtain wraps the space to dampen echoes.
Throughout the Jayaram offices, Snarkitecture included furniture from its new collection in collaboration with Finnish brand Made By Choice.
Pieces including dining chairs, lounge chairs, small round tables and a large conference table all feature the studio’s signature wavy edges and cutouts.
Several works from Snarkitecture’s Broken & Sculpted Series created with the Italian brand Gufram are also dotted around the office.
The pink, broken mirrors introduce hints of colour, while the studio’s Slip chairs with wonky legs and a slanted seat for Portuguese brand UVA add even more whimsy.
Since starting Snarkitecture in 2008, Arsham and Mustonen have worked with brands including Kith, Billionaire Boys Club, COS and Caesarstone on retail interiors and immersive installations.
In New York City, the studio has previously filled a gallery with lights that resemble “large lollipops” and created an exhibition space at Hudson Yards to allow the public to explore its experiments.
The photography is by Harlan Erskine.
