Lavazza Opens New U.S. Showroom and Headquarters Office in Mahattan
Montroy Andersen DeMarco and Studio aCd Architetti
Complete U.S. Headquarters and Showroom
of Italian Coffee Supplier Lavazza in Manhattan
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The design of the 15,000-sq.-ft showroom and office merges the Italian brand’s aesthetics with high-energy American workplace concepts
New York, N.Y. – The prominent New York City architecture, design, and planning firm of Montroy Andersen DeMarco (MADGI) and the Turin, Italy-based studio aCd architetti have completed the U.S. headquarters office and showroom of the leading global coffee supplier and equipment manufacturer Lavazza, also based in Turin.
Located at 120 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, the 15,000-sq.-ft. office occupies the entire 27th floor of the building. MADGI’s office collaborated with the Italian design team to introduce Lavazza’s global branding standards into an American office environment.
“Our project team took Lavazza’s material and design concepts, developed in Italy by our colleagues at studio aCd architetti, and then executed these ideas to create a European-flavored, but very American, high-energy office with open work spaces, glazed meeting rooms, and breathtaking views of Manhattan and the surrounding waterways,” said MADGI Principal Steven Andersen.
MADGI assisted Lavazza during the preliminary planning phase and helped the client identify and select the space suitable for its functional, spacial, and branding needs. The newly leased, full-floor space at 120 Wall Street features a 1,000-sq.-ft wrap-around outdoor terrace that takes advantage of the views of the Hudson River and Manhattan. The irregular-shaped floor plan of the office encompasses the central elevator core with a private elevator landing.
The design goals included creating a striking showroom space that would be appealing to American customers, while following Lavazza’s global branding, signage, and finishes standards. The office houses approximately 35 employees.
The interior program includes a 700-sq.-ft. showroom in the southeast corner of the space, a 400-sq.-ft. main conference room adjacent to the showroom, a 200-sq.-ft. meeting room, two 350-sq.-ft executive offices, a reception area that incorporates a lounge section and an adjacent 200-sq.-ft. cafeteria, and an open workstation area.
The showroom, designed to emulate an almost home-like atmosphere, features white display cases for coffee-making equipment, books, and promotional items; a hardwood floor in contrasting natural wood and dark “espresso” stain colors; two narrow, white countertops that serve as meeting and display tables with bar-type stools in white and red; strip LED lighting imbedded in the drywall ceiling; and expansive windows.
The conference room, intended mainly for client meetings, features a movable partition with etched branded patterns that opens into the showroom and a large, three-dimensional, wooden cut-out Lavazza logo relief. The espresso-stained hardwood floor features a lighter, naturally-colored perimeter border. The furnishings include an oval light wood and glass table and white leather chairs.
In contrast to the residential-like design of the showroom, the reception area features strong corporate branding, contrasting colors, mixed natural and artificial materials, and partially exposed ceilings and infrastructure, all of which is painted white. The 12-ft.-long, curved reception desk was manufactured using red-lacquered wood above a brushed steel base, with a horizontal LED light stripe that follows the curvature of the desk. The rare section of the reception desk is fabricated from natural wood. The back wall of the receptionist’s station features panels in alternating red and burgundy colors. The flooring is natural-colored hardwood. This section also includes contrasting white and red walls and a large, three-dimensional Lavazza “coffee cup” logo feature that faces the elevator door.
One of the unusual interior elements of the reception area is the Topakustik ceiling system by Fantoni Group. Topakustik features panels of sound absorbent wood strips designed for aesthetic and sound effect. The back of the panel is made of a layer of sound absorbent material. The reception includes 1,130 sq. ft. of Topakustik panels. The area also features 710 sq. ft. of the Ecophon Solo ceiling system. The unframed panels, manufactured by Saint-Gobain, add architectural variety to the space. Both ceiling elements are painted white to contrast with the strong colors of the reception desk and the three-dimensional logo feature.
A long storage wall installed along the building core runs throughout most of the length of the space. The elevator doors feature frames painted with leather-like paint.
Open workstations by UNIFOR are separated into nine clusters with full-height divider walls covered with brand-related graphics, creating semi-private workspace environments. Glass panel walls with etched graphics surround the clusters.
Lavazza
Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of coffee products. Founded in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza, it was initially run from a small grocery store at Via San Tommaso. The company is currently administered by the third and fourth generation of the Lavazza family.
From the late 1800s to today, Lavazza has been committed to achieving excellence in the production of coffee. The company’s history is marked by an ongoing series of pioneering insights, starting with the very first concept of blends, invented by Lavazza at the turn of the 20th century. This legacy of innovation, the result of over a century in the business, is one of Lavazza’s core corporate strengths.
Today, Lavazza is the symbol of Italian coffee around the world, a global icon representing the authentic Italian experience. The firm’s brands include Keurig, Expresion, and Wimbledon. In addition to supplying commercial and consumer coffee and coffee making products, the firm operates Lavazza Espression coffee shops.
Montroy Andersen DeMarco
Founded in 1990 and based in New York City, Montroy Andersen DeMarco (MADGI) is a prominent architectural and interior design firm predominantly serving the Greater New York area. MADGI is led by four principals: Daniel Montroy, Steven Andersen, Richard DeMarco, and Marvin Meltzer. The firm employs 40 architects, interior designers, LEED professionals, project managers, and support staff.
Building Design & Construction magazine ranked MADGI as the 80th largest architectural and design firm in the United States in 2014.
MADGI’s markets include retail, office and corporate interiors, residential and mixed-use new buildings, entertainment and hospitality, commercial building conversions, the market re-positioning of properties, landlord services, and sustainable/LEED design.
Headed by principals, MADGI’s specialized studios have served as either lead designer or architect of record for some of the most innovative – and challenging – projects in the city. The firm is known for design quality and expertise in cost control, technical issues, and addressing complex zoning regulations.
The firm was the design force behind headquarters and regional offices of a multitude of global corporate bluebloods. These include the 35,000-sq.-ft.U.S. headquarters the Japanese advertising and digital marketing giant Dentsu; the 150,000-sq.-ft. East Hanover, N.J., U.S. headquarters and laboratories and the 75,000-sq.-ft. Manhattan offices and testing labs of Givaudan Fragrance; the 14,000-sq.-ft. Lavazza U.S. headquarters at 120 Wall Street; the 60,000-sq.-ft. East Coast headquarters of ICM Partners at 730 Fifth Avenue; and the 35,000-sq.-ft. headquarters of National Futures Association at One New York Plaza in Manhattan, among others.
MADGI’s retail experience includes the flagship Fifth Avenue store of the footwear designer Camper; multiple locations of U.S. Polo Assn. stores; the 60,000-sq.-ft. Discovery Times Square exposition; and BR Guest Hospitality’s Bill’s Bar and Burger locations at the Rockefeller Center and the New York Marriott Downtown. MADGI is also currently serving as the executive architect for two of the most prominent restaurants and tourist attractions in Manhattan: the observation deck and retail space atop the new World Trade Center and the renovation of the landmark Rainbow Room on top of Rockefeller Center.
The firm’s architectural, executive design, and design collaborations portfolio includes the citizenM New York hotel in Times Square; The Dillon Townhouses and Condominiums, a 205,000-sq.-ft residential complex at 425 West 53rd Street that received a 2012 AIA New York State Award of Merit; the 11-story 560 West 24th Street luxury condominium; the 100,000-sq.-ft. Soori High Line luxury condominium on West 29th Street; and the market repositioning of the 100,000-sq.-ft. 160 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
MADGI has designed over five million square feet of office and common use space for leading commercial landlords in New York City, including CBRE, Colliers, George Comfort & Sons, Atlas Capital, and Equity Office.
