Brooklyn, NY FXCollaborative is officially unveiling its new 40,000 s/f workspace in downtown at 1 Willoughby Sq. The office is the first LEED Platinum v4 ID+C in New York City and is the highest-scoring LEED v4 ID+C CI project in the country. Developed by JEMB Realty, it is downtown’s first ground-up office tower in a generation.
“Our goal for 1 Willoughby Sq. was to create a platform for collaboration - a beautiful building and studio that encourages the social connectivity employees can only get at the office,” said Dan Kaplan, senior partner at FXCollaborative. “We set out to create a model of environmentally friendly, biophilic workplace design and are very gratified that the firm’s home has achieved the highest score for LEED interiors in the country.”
The design of FXCollaborative’s offices at 1 Willoughby Sq. showcases the firm’s commitment to sustainability. Pandemic-responsive design features were prioritized, including the ability to enhance ventilation rates using a high level of air filtration with MERV-14 air filters, UV light treatment of coils in air handling units, all low-VOC emission materials, and access to multiple and ample outdoor spaces. By conducting extensive in-house LEED and general sustainability consulting, FXCollaborative gained deeper insights into established best practices and seamlessly incorporated those findings into their offices, effectively renewing their legacy as leaders in sustainability.
The offices include additional energy-saving measures such as LED lighting, including a daylight dimming system. FXCollaborative also took steps to address embodied carbon when designing the space through the reuse of existing items including furniture, shelving, and task lighting as well as incorporating a high number of products with Environmental Product Declarations disclosing global warming and other pollution potentials.
“The FXCollaborative offices have become the new prototype of office design where the interior balances working and social functions while placing employee health and wellbeing at the forefront of the design,” said Gustavo Rodriguez, partner and design director at FXCollaborative. “The building’s strategically-located side core allowed our team to create wide-open, column-free floor plates and maximize flexibility. This provided a sense of each floor feeling like a loft — unencumbered with columns and bursting with an ample supply of natural light and wide-open work environments that promote a high degree of social connectivity. Overall, 1 Willoughby Sq. is an example of premier workspace design that highlights our commitment to sustainability, connection and collaboration.”
FXCollaborative’s offices are spread over three interconnected floors and feature an innovative studio layout. The workspace blends the best qualities of focused and socially oriented modes of working. The design offers flexible workstations, lighting that optimizes natural and artificial sources and acoustic privacy to provide an environment beyond the typical work-from-home set up. The central staircase is an example of an active design meant to improve the health and wellness of staff while incorporating another energy-saving measure by reducing the need for elevators in the offices. FXCollaborative designed several floors throughout the building to have easily removable slabs to enable the use of similar stairs for tenants with multiple floors. The firm’s main reception space offers visitors access to a gallery flanked by a model shop and an open kitchen, as well as three client-facing conference spaces.
Rejecting the conventional all-glass formulation, the design of the LEED Silver 34-story mixed-use tower, also designed by FXCollaborative, is a contemporary take on the famed New York industrial loft with distinctive blue-glazed brick spandrels, exposed concrete structure and oversized windows with exterior sun shades that evoke traditional gridded windows. It has been organized to promote social and natural connectivity, offering a healthy and dynamic work environment for clients in the high-tech and creative industries. The theme of “connectedness” is further enhanced by interior atria, exterior terraces, and three “superfloors” incorporating higher ceiling heights, amenity spaces, and exterior loggias.
A crafted façade expression provides a substantial counterpoint to the predominance of new curtainwall buildings. Solar shading devices, which are rare on New York City office buildings, support occupant comfort and control glare while allowing for views and daylight. Other unique features include the building’s solar shading devices, which are rare on NYC high-rise buildings. These devices bolster occupant comfort by mitigating glare and heat gain, while allowing for ample views and daylight, enhanced enclosure components, in excess of code requirements, help save energy and maintain internal comfort and thermally isolated balconies, rain-screen attachments, and solar shading devices minimize cold bridges. The balcony doors are especially noteworthy with Passive House level thermal and air tightness performance.
Additional amenities throughout the building include a food-and-beverage space, lounge, conference room and covered terrace. There is a separate entrance to the soon-to-be-opened neighboring park, 250 bike parking spots, locker rooms and showers. The base of the building will also house a new public school with its own entrance.
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