FACILITY SPOTLIGHT: WINSTON & STRAWN LLP

By Rob McGill
Communications Committee

I had the distinct pleasure of virtually touring the newly renovated offices of Winston & Strawn LLP, located at 200 Park Avenue. The international law firm recently renovated two floors within the MetLife Building with the goal of developing a new workplace design philosophy for its New York office. The pillars of this new philosophy were to create a transformative space that achieved greater population density on each floor, access to natural light for all employees, unique collaboration spaces, and single-size private offices for attorneys. Having the unique opportunity to renovate a single floor (rather than the full stack) allowed the firm to conceptualize the 40th floor as a pilot for future spaces, including the 42nd floor, which was completed in 2020.

Looking at Winston & Strawn’s newly renovated office through the lens of the global pandemic — and its inevitable effects on office-space design — the company is well-positioned for the future. Its updated design philosophy lends flexibility and adaptability to a post-pandemic office environment that includes “free address” office assignments, adaptable food and conference services, and enhanced video-conferencing technology. The successful design and construction would not have been possible without its exceptional project team:

Architect: HLW International, LLP

Client: The Winston & Strawn, LLP

General Contractor: Clune Construction Company, LP

Engineer: AMA Consulting Engineers, PC

Furniture: Andreu World, Arper, Geiger, Halcon, Knoll

DESIGN FEATURES:

The project team was challenged by the Winston New York office’s managing partner to create a space that was transformative, contemporary and engaging. To accomplish this, the Winston team worked closely with the workplace strategy division of HLW to host a series of focus groups for staff and attorneys.

A great deal of attention was paid to the perceptions of the firm’s existing space and how the new layout could better meet the needs of the business. The focus groups noted that the culture of Winston’s New York office is both collaborative and convivial, but the flow of the firm’s existing floors did not reflect those integral cultural qualities.

Reimagining the space to complement Winston’s culture called for more transparency through using glazed walls; creating relief and openness throughout the floor to introduce natural light and the magnificent city views; designing an efficient, single-sized private office with an innovative furniture plan, suited for both solo work and casual meetings; eliminating corner offices; and creating more collaboration spaces where colleagues can gather.

Conference rooms in the updated layout were designed using feedback from Winston’s attorneys, staff and focus group participants. As a result, the new floor plan includes smaller rooms that accommodate teams of three to four people with improved video conferencing technology. These rooms are ideal for virtual interviews and meetings with core team members, eliminating the need to reserve an unnecessarily large meeting room. The project team also incorporated screens into the banquettes in the new café space so that individuals can share documents or have casual meetings in the café with visuals.

Creating a café space that offers food service and natural light was also part of the remit from the New York office’s managing partner. The impressive 3,000SF café is situated along the window line and looks south over Park Avenue down onto Lower Manhattan and beyond — one of the best views in the city. The café features various hospitality options for food and beverage, as well as a full-service coffee bar. The design team utilized a variety of seating types to support those who want to work away from their assigned location or simply enjoy breakfast, lunch or a snack. The café’s 1,500SF ventless kitchen supports both the café’s operation and the conference services catering function for all in-house meetings and events.

The success of the 40th floor’s transformation was evident when, upon its unveiling, five Winston partners in leadership positions voluntarily gave up their corner offices to sit on the newly renovated floor.

DESIGN CHALLENGES:

Although it is an iconic building, the floor plate of 200 Park Avenue presented design challenges because of its canted shape and significant number of columns. To solve this, the project team opened up the corners, standardized the size of offices outlining the perimeter, and created a pleasing flow through the floor, oriented by city views.

There were also several base building ducts to work around to establish 9’+ tall ceilings within a building that usually allows for only 8’ ceilings. This was achieved through the notable teamwork between HLW and AMA when designing the HVAC system.

The entire project took five months to build and was completed on time with a minimal punch list. Special thanks to the Winston & Strawn project team for the tour and project overview.

 

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