A former cardboard production facility in DUMBO serves as the new Brooklyn headquarters of Snøhetta. Atop 55 Washington Street, the studio’s relocated New York office is conceived to foster inspiration through open floorplans, abundant daylighting, and moments of sensory immersion.
Heralding arrivals, a reclaimed wood door opens to a wall of aubergine-hued shelves showcasing diverse models of concepts, design studies, and completed projects. The entryway unfolds into a corner living room space offering inspiration against a backdrop of expansive city views. Custom modular furniture empowers users to curate the space to their needs without compromising interior sightlines. “They stack and you can reconfigure them and plan to make larger pieces,” says Snøhetta partner and managing director Elaine Molinar. “You can sit around this configuration very easily without feeling like you can’t see each other.” Overlooking the Brooklyn waterfront as well as the Manhattan Bridge and Manhattan skyline, an L-shaped terrace is attached to the living room. Endowed with custom seating, the terrace also includes Counterbalance, Snøhetta’s star-shaped wooden seesaw first unveiled at Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2023.
Lined with original raw ceilings and floors, the open, democratic layout accommodates nearly 50 employees across rows of workstations. The main office stretches toward an elevated kitchen and dining area adorned with custom linear dining tables and surfaces punctuated in verdant hues of earthy green, deep aqua, and mustard. Overhead, a sprawling skylight frames the building’s fecund communal rooftop garden as well. “This is something I feel is always so important for the quality of the users,” Molinar says, “bringing a sense of the outside in a controlled way.” Colorful epoxy floor details and even a disco ball accent the area for a dash of whimsy.
In addition to a small handful of privacy pods, perimeters house private financial and human resource offices as well as utility spaces like the materials library and a 3D-printing studio. At the far end of the floorplan, a quaint stern currently hosts a project showcase with plans, models, and organic site artifacts from the recently unveiled Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota. “It’s just really just a way of listening up, getting creative,” Molinar says of the space. “You have to shift your thinking behind what size and scale means.”
