On the one month anniversary of our last post (!)…and just over a year since the first post (!!), perhaps one of the final construction posts. I’ve said this before, but the end is now, really, in sight. Perhaps 2 weeks even.

Things got stalled for awhile as we had to figure out a solution to plumbing issue. Basically, not enough water pressure getting upstairs. So, the final answer was to run a bigger pipe from the street into the building. Apple, us and the future rooftop tenant will now have all the pressure we need. The city had to install a new meter on Liberty St., and now we’re doing final plumbing. Then comes inspection, and then….hopefully…final CO and move in. Could be an April Fools celebration.

Some of the additions in the past month:

Lots of small touches – painting, finish work, the hallway of horrors (you’ll have to see to appreciate), light installation and more. Basically grinding down the punch list.

Final lighting picks and installation – some new hanging pendants, lights above the bar, etc.

The Cape Buffalo – we adopted this from our office above Lucky Brand. Not sure where he or she came from or who snuffed him or her out, but we’ve become attached. It’s now mounted on the wall over what will be a restaurant booth.

Exterior Signs – along with painted ghost sign at the top, we developed some street level signage to help people find us at 301B King.

A few more posts to come as we wrap up plumbing, get inspections, and figure out where to place the work stations.

A quick update on things around the 301 King project. It’s been two weeks of wiring, hvac and other prep work for the big changes coming. We’re nearing the end of the electrical wiring, and thanks to the team at E-Lifespaces we’ll have some structured included that will allow our computers to talk to the tvs in the space. Important for presentations and World Cup.

We’ve also been working through a number of design projects…from the flooring approach (mix of concrete/wood), lighting systems and fixtures, plumbing and hardware (including a cool concrete communal sink), and finally the kitchen/bar appliances. Many thanks to Beverly at Haute Design for her help and guidance on some key questions.

All the while, Matt Decell has been cranking a way on the kitchen/bar cabinetry (as well as a custom ping pong/conference table)….so the coming weeks should be fun to follow as all this stuff starts flowing in. More to come.

Meanwhile on the inside, columns come down from the ones outside, tying together to further enhance the structural stability. Hopefully these two views give a good representation of how this will shape up.

Unfortunately we’re still waiting on the weather to improve before this gets started. For the most part, these pieces were done quicker than our time lapse really wanted to handle. That’s speedy work!

If you saw the “before” picture of the roof structure from yesterday’s post…here is today’s “after” shot. Thanks to the massively talented builder team, all went smoothly. Getting that heavy steel up on the roof (via crane) was a big and dicey task.

As the previous post noted, this long beam will be the new roofline for this side of the building, and running below the beam will be a glass wall that “separates” the interior mezzanine and the exterior patio.

Dropped by 301 King yesterday for a quick visit. The space is coming together fast – the bathrooms are completely framed out in steel and the finish work has been completed on the gunite.

Today marks a big day in the process. As the plans show, the roof towards the front of the building is going to be elevated up 45 degrees to allow for sunlight as well as access to the future roof deck. To make that happen, a 50-80ft steel beam is getting craned in from the sky. Liberty street will be closed off for the better portion of the day while a massive machine hoists this critical piece of infrastructure into place.

Above is a photo of the roof as it existed on 4/27/09. Imagine a large beam running from the highest point of the right side back towards the camera, and metal supports running horizontally that fit into place to allow for a new roof to be fashioned over the elevated section. The other side of the existing roof will remain intact, though both sides will now be painted white to increase energy efficiency and keep the downstairs areas nice and cool.

We also installed a time-lapse camera on the far side of the roof to capture the entire installation process. Check back for that video once we retrieve the camera in the coming weeks.

Aerial View

There are some basic principles that we’re looking to weave into this new office. They’re driven by a desire to create a different kind of space that reflects how we like to work and play. Most of the ideas were shaped by personal experience…lessons learned while working away in some great offices and some terrible ones. We never actually wrote anything down, the themes just became expectations as we discussed the possibilities and looked at all the different options. Finally, the team at KHA did a great job of drawing these out by observing how we work and asking the right questions about what and why we do.

So…here’s an incomplete manifesto of sorts for the shaping of 301 King.

WORK IS FUN, FUN IS WORK – In our world and industry, the lines are pretty blurred between work life and life life. Given the nature of the medium, it’s not like you can just turn on and turn off. And we truly love what we do. So, we embrace the blur and are looking to make our work space every bit as inspired, comfortable, distinctive and fun as home. We all spend most of our waking hours at work anyway…so why can’t we all work in a place that’s every bit as comfortable as home?

YOU ARE WHERE YOU WORK – I think it was Churchill who said “We shape our places, and then they shape us.” Or something like that. We’re looking to create an environment that reflects who we are and what we hope to become. The space should both feel like us, and lift us. Because it will shape us.

GATHER IN SPACES – I think everyone knows that the best conversations and the best ideas rarely happen in conventional conference rooms. We like smaller, less formal meeting spaces that foster open collaboration. We’ll look to weave in a number of small group spaces, instead of one or two big conference rooms. The hub of the office will be a bar and kitchen. Back at Wentworth we learned, by accident, that it was a great place for meeting. People love to hang and talk in a kitchen at home (you can’t get them out during a party) and the very same thing happens in an office. So rather than a depressing break room type kitchen, we’ll make it the nucleus. Also look for some “open air” meeting areas on outdoor decks and patios.

LEARNING THEATER – We plan to incorporate a “stage” to hold presentations and to host slideshows, music, art events, etc. by friends, colleagues and clients. Sort of a Pecha Kucha Light space…that we can open up to others to keep the wider community inspired about design, technology and more.

OPEN IS BETTER – We’re not big fans of walls, cubes, doors or any type of closed-off spaces. I for one would fall asleep every day if I had to work in a private office. We prefer big, wide-open floorplans and lots of common area. It reflects the relatively flat and democratic nature of our work….as you never know where the next idea is going to come from.

MINIMIAL IMPACT – While we’re not expecting to eliminate our carbon footprint or snag a Platinum LEED rating, we did apply some basic, common sense green criteria to the office search. First, we wanted to locate in a space where we had the best chance of minimizing the need for daily driving. Several of us will be able to bike or walk, some can take CARTA, and no one should have to drive to pick up lunch or hit the gym. Second, we looked to rehab an existing structure rather than build a new one…for obvious reasons. And finally, for economic and ecological reasons we’ll look to reduce the volume and the impact of the materials needed to upfit and run the space.

IDEAS ARE BETTER THAN FINISHES – Related to the minimal impact thing….but great ideas don’t need tons of execution or fancy materials. If the idea of the space is strong enough, we can just let the materials be what they are. Concrete, structure, brick, hvac, etc. can be embraced, not covered up.

Here we go and more to come. Cheers, RP