Contract Magazine - January/February 2018 - 104

publicis
north america
headquarter

INTERIORS AWARDS

104

Office: Large
Clive Wilkinson Architects

Client
Publicis Groupe

Location
New York

By Sam Lubell
Photography by
Michael Moran

With eight floors of a rectilinear Midtown Manhattan
highrise, one might expect the new office of Publicis
North America to have a rather regularized gridlike plan. But Los Angeles-based Clive Wilkinson
Architects broke the office-in-a-skyscraper mold
by seemingly dematerializing the rigid spatial
template, cutting large atria and adding a grand
stair to unite floors.
Consolidating its three previously scattered
New York locations, global advertising and public
relations company Publicis Groupe commissioned
Wilkinson to design its new North American
headquarters across 190,000 square feet of 1675
Broadway at 52nd Street. The office gives Publicis
a strong creative identity and rethinks its work
layout, injecting the interior with high-octane
energy and a sense of collaboration.
The metaphor of a tree extending upwards
is evident throughout, such as in the fragmentation
of the floor plates and branchlike ceilings. "We were
looking at this rather big core in a very typical
slab highrise and thinking: 'How do we transform
it?' " Wilkinson says. "We noticed there was a big
trunklike space in the center, so we said, 'Why don't
we exploit and play with it?' "
The dynamic procession begins at the
multifloor entrance atrium, which leads to a raised
platform containing lounges and a boardroom. From
this point, surfaces ranging from drywall to glass
and timber are pushed, pulled, curved, and creased
in multiple directions, and often rendered in bright
red, the company's brand color. Other planes are
covered with playful wallpaper patterns that
frequently evoke natural themes. These malleable
surfaces carve out quiet, intimate areas and, in other
instances, form large rooms, resulting in what
Wilkinson describes as a "mini city."
To create liveliness and better promote
teamwork, Publicis has implemented a mobile working
strategy. All employees share desks, collaborative
work settings, and meeting rooms, and the resulting
environment is vivacious and varied. Sitting and
standing desks, conference rooms, and individual
desks, as well as cafe and lounge seating, all encircle

the core. Movable partitions allow employees
to set up individual or group spaces. The office
is full of life, constantly and creatively morphing.
"We literally broke down the walls that
prevented us from communicating," notes Andrew
Bruce, the president and CEO of Publicis North
America. "I call it dynamic architecture-a living,
breathing space that continually adapts to our
needs as a vital, growing organization."
Treatments are equally varied and energetic
in nature. The lighting scheme, for instance, mixes
downlights, pendants, light bars, and cove lighting,
while flooring consists of polished concrete, carpet,
and different types of wood.
Further enhancing the Publicis communal
culture, Wilkinson established public destinations
on each floor-such as a pub, plaza, and multiuse
room-that encourage spontaneous interactions
and knowledge sharing. These spots have proved
to be very popular. "You're meeting new people;
you're talking to your co-workers. It's an incredibly
creative environment," says John Jenkinson, the
director of corporate communications for Publicis
North America.
"This is our home, but it just happens to be
our work home," adds Carla Serrano, the CEO of
Publicis New York. "And now with a beautiful, open,
welcoming, collaborative space, we are injecting
our individual purposes and values into everything
we do, every day. That life blend just naturally makes
us better, more creative people, and inevitably
drives the work to a much better place." c

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