Food 52 Offices – New York City
Float Studio‘s design challenge at Food52’s new NYC office was to blend warmth and intimacy in a modern space, balancing residential charm with commercial utility through custom furnishings and unique areas.
With 45,000 square feet of workable space, Food52’s new office at the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Dock 72 is Float Studio’s largest completed project to date. The primary design challenge was to replicate the hospitable and intimate environment of Food52’s former office in a prewar building within the expansive, modern shell of Dock 72. To create a space that would effectively preserve and build upon Food52’s culture of community, Float Studio worked to create a sense of comfort and intimacy with every detail.
The architectural language embraces variety and hones in on unique moments that come together for a sense of cohesion and warmth. Throughout, a muted color palette unifies the spaces while warming textures bring a sense of calm. Every element – from Float Studio’s custom- built furnishings to deliberately lowered ceilings and beam treatments – is characterized by architectural and decorative variety for a collected atmosphere that taps into Food52’s ethos of joyful, purposeful living.
The workspace is divided unlike any other, with programming truly unique to Food52. Every space serves multiple functions and provides a variety of configurations for content production, entertaining guests, showcasing Food52’s product line, and more. With roots in the kitchen, Food52’s five uniquely designed kitchens are a highlight of the HQ. The video kitchen is most closely related to their heritage brand and the design of Food52’s former office space, also designed by Float Studio, with residential accents in every detail. These are balanced with the capabilities of a commercial kitchen including high-capacity vents and acoustically treated walls ideal for producing top-tier content.
Throughout the workplace, Float Studio incorporated custom furnishings designed to balance residential charm with corporate utility. That is never more obvious than in the test kitchen where utilitarian design provides increased storage capacity and ultimate functionality. The workstations are equipped with commercial-grade appliances and shallow pockets at every cabinet for hiding and charging laptops and devices.
Modeled after a residential dining room, the largest conference room is encased in metal paneling and mullions with vertical glass, balancing visibility and privacy to accommodate various uses. A sense of separation is reinforced through architectural variety including a dark wood beam treatment on the ceiling and a plaster finish on the vertical columns at either end of the room to add texture and interest. A conference table that resembles a residential dining table amplifies the comfortable atmosphere.
The conference room’s windows overlook the social kitchen, offering guests a behind-the-scenes look at an integral part of daily work life at Food52 – content creation. Designed for producing social content in an atmosphere that is comfortable and familiar to Food52’s audience, Float Studio opted for a residential aesthetic inspired by English country homes.
In the office’s primary community and hosting area, Float Studio integrated both front and back-of-house kitchen spaces to accommodate hosting and everyday meal prepping alike. A grand hosting space is complemented by large dining tables and lounging spaces for mixed use – from casual work and team gatherings to large corporate meetings, events or activities.
Design: Float Studio
Design Team: Brad Sherman, Nina Etnier, Barbara Giacoman, Emily Siegel
Architect of Record: AchesonDoyel Partners
Contractor: Schimenti Construction Company
Photography: William Jess Laird
