The historic 1501 Broadway, also known as the Paramount Building, has recently begun to undergo renovations in order to modernize the building and attract more young, creative tenants. It was MKDA’s goal to celebrate the building’s origins while also instilling it with a contemporary, inventive spirit. Rather than mimicking the past, the team took a modern, minimal design approach, which will help showcase and build upon Paramount’s significant roots with innovative aesthetics.
The prebuilt offices, ranging in sizes from 4,000 to 10,000 square feet, embrace aspects from its Art Deco past and fuse them with progressive components creating a timeless appeal. For instance, in the pantry areas, the project team used bronze-coated and gray, plastic laminate cabinets as well as a marble countertop with a rubbed bronze finish base for the center island to pay homage to the building’s original and historic style. On the other hand, MKDA infused the spaces with modern notes including a primarily white, minimalist backdrop and an open plan layout allowing natural light to pour into the offices. It also incorporates new pendant and LED lighting and all glass office fronts.
In order to encourage social distancing, there are more individual offices in the layout and larger workstations with dividers in the open area. Similarly, in light of COVID-19, the team placed an emphasis on physical and mental wellbeing to provide a soft landing spot for employees who have been largely working remotely. MKDA implemented biophilic design elements through scattering plants and greenery across the workplace to increase occupants’ feelings of wellbeing and integrating suspended ceiling panels with lighting to help dampen sound and prevent toxic noise levels.