Yves Behar's Latest Project: CANOPY Jackson Square in San Francisco

Designed by Yves Behar and Amir Mortazavi of M-PROJECTS, CANOPY Jackson Square delivers impeccable contemporary and ergonomic design within a serene, distraction-free environment

Overview
Inspired by the artists and radicals who brought to life San Francisco’s North Beach and Jackson Square neighborhoods in the 1950s, CANOPY was designed to be a profound departure from the standard workspace. 

Strong site-lines organize the 13,000-square foot space, with CANOPY’s signature glass-enclosed private offices lining one side, and a café by Jane and open workspaces on the other. 

In the center, an organic lounge is a place-making architectural tour-de-force intended to encourage both casual conversations and work meetings. A literal, dramatic architectural canopy was built around three columns as a freestanding fanning structure that doubles as book and magazine shelving. 

The tree-like design serves as both a visual privacy screen to the conference room and work areas, as well as a containment of the lounge area. An exercise in visual expression, CANOPY Jackson Square strives to create a harmonious and thoughtful balance between work and social. The space is bathed by natural light; all areas were designed to have light filtering in from multiple directions.

CANOPY was built with innovative features that encourage privacy and inhibit sound. Private offices are sealed by high-tech Modernus glass partitions and feature soft floors and ceiling surfaces, inciting quality conversations. 

Common spaces have slated ceiling insulation throughout, as well as CANOPY’s signature foam light fixtures, which provide additional sound control. Upholstered furniture, fabric desk privacy screens, and soundproofing materials that line the phone booths and Mother’s Room all uniquely contribute to a distraction-free environment.

Outdoor Work Terrace

A rare and standout feature of CANOPY Jackson Square is an innovative outdoor work terrace encompassing 1,500 square feet with breathtaking views of San Francisco and presenting a healthy and new work style enabled by technology and design. 

The expansive space is partially covered and heated for year-round, all-season use. Three zones encompass café-style seating, a casual lounge space, and workspaces for one-on-one collaboration or meetings complete with marble tables and high-quality, ergonomic, heated seating by Galanter & Jones that enable longer and more comfortable outdoor work sessions. 

An outdoor awning structure, made of recycled sails and designed to protect members from the elements, was designed by Yves and Amir in collaboration with SF-based MAFIA Bags founder, Marcos Mafia.

Palette, Products & Finishes

CANOPY Jackson Square’s color palette is a nod to its location amid the captivating neighborhoods of North Beach, Jackson Square, the Financial District and Chinatown. A sense of serenity and feminine qualities contrast and harmonize with the architectural textured black surfaces and exposed concrete, complimenting the brutalist masterpiece of San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid, which is visible from CANOPY. Similarly, green tones echo the oxidized copper accents of the vernacular Coppola Sentinel building, while unsaturated pink touches pay tribute to the historic stucco facade of City Lights, the legendary beatnik and activist bookstore down the street. Verdi Alpi marble-infused tables and elements help bring the natural world into the space.

Contemporary office furnishings comprise a host of Herman Miller pieces, including Yves Behar-designed Sayl Chairs and Public Office Landscape System Tables, Charles and Ray Eames Chairs, Chadwick Modular Seating and Renew Sit-to-Stand Tables by Brian Alexander. CANOPY will also incorporate the LiveOS system by Herman Miller which automatically raises and lowers desks to the perfect height when it senses that a specific user is in front of it.

These pieces are complemented by Eric Trine coffee tables and planters, Rodolfi Rodroni for Kettal outdoor furniture, Raw Edges for Mutina tiles, Concrete Cat mirrors, vintage 60s and 70s Preben Dahl lights, floating copper shelves designed by Yves and Amir, and M-PROJECTS-custom designed conference tables made of blackened ash and Verde Alpi green and black marble, as well as solid ash communal tables. With both geometric and organic elements woven throughout, unique accents include pink quartzite kitchen finishes, blackened plywood bulkheads and Shaw Floors tiled organic carpet patterns.

Bay Area craftspeople and artisans are amply showcased throughout CANOPY Jackson Square. This includes ceramics from Year & Day and a plaster gradient wall by artist Victor Reyes within the break room and café, plus custom-designed tables, cabinets and light fixtures.

About CANOPY

CANOPY is exceptional shared workspace for accomplished professionals and aspirational entrepreneurs alike. Custom designed by friends Yves Behar and Amir Mortazavi, and built from the ground up by M-PROJECTS, CANOPY delivers an elevated contemporary design, a distraction-free environment, and sophisticated membership and concierge-style amenities programs in iconic neighborhoods. CANOPY centers on the premise that where you work affects what you do and who you are. The members-only workspace seeks to bring people together and inspire great ideas that design can amplify. CANOPY’s first location opened in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights in 2016. Its second location opened in San Francisco’s Jackson Square in Spring 2018. Headquartered in San Francisco, CANOPY was founded by Yves Behar, Amir Mortazavi and Steve Mohebi. 

For more information, please visit www.canopy.space

All Photos by Joe Fletcher, Courtesy of CANOPY

Lowenstein Sandler Fuels Collaborative Culture with New Suburban Space

Lowenstein Sandler LLP announced the opening of its new New Jersey office space to complement its recently upgraded and expanded midtown Manhattan office.

Entrance to One Lowenstein

“The new space is designed to be an epicenter of collaboration for flexible teams that benefit from having one foot in Manhattan and another in a natural, suburban setting with proximity to great corporate and individual clients in both locations,” said Gary Wingens, chairman and managing partner of Lowenstein Sandler. “We designed the space to harness our intense energy and facilitate greater collaboration and efficiency.”

Lowenstein Sandler is now the anchor tenant at One Lowenstein Drive – part of a wooded office campus in Roseland, New Jersey which also includes 56 Livingston Avenue– where it occupies the entire third floor as well as a vertical townhouse section of the newly repositioned building.

Front Lobby of One Lowenstein

Lowenstein collaborated with Mountain Development Company, the redeveloper of the property, and Marner Architecture to rethink what had been a big pharma headquarters to reflect and amplify the firm’s culture. The office is unified by a central diagonal “parkway” from which one can see the building’s glass front entrance in one direction and the scenic surroundings in the other – connecting teams as it spans the length of the building. On either side of the parkway, practices gather in “neighborhoods.” Avoiding monotonous grids and squares, the office is cut into novel triangular spaces, nooks and angles, offering settings to stop and meet colleagues.

A 5,000 square foot common area called the “Lab” is a gravitational social space at the midpoint of the parkway. It knits together the neighborhoods and features a coffee bar, game rooms, and casual seating. It is ringed by junior associate offices, plugging them into the heart of the firm (as well as the snacks). The Lab is complemented by alternative gathering spots, including a secluded rooftop garden.

The Lab collaborative space at One Lowenstein

Flexible conference rooms and other areas are designed to accommodate everything from small team huddles to large closings, litigation proceedings, public company board meetings, and community and pro bono events. A dedicated data and network operations center, as well as security and backup power systems keep One Lowenstein operational 24 hours a day.

The Lab collaborative space at One Lowenstein

The new office consolidates Lowenstein Sandler’s former suburban offices into a single building in a park-like setting. Just 17 miles from Lowenstein’s Rockefeller Center offices, the new campus allows Lowenstein lawyers the continued flexibility to work in both urban and suburban environments over the course of a day, week or career. It also reflects the innovative thinking of the firm’s real estate practice group, which led the effort, about how office space, particularly in suburban office parks, can evolve to better serve a mobile and everchanging workforce.

“Law firm offices in the U.S. are typically designed for work behind a closed door,” said Ted Hunter, chair of Lowenstein Sandler’s real estate practice group. “A rabbit warren of individual workspaces results, shut off from the rest of the office. As work has become mobile, the primary mission of an office is no longer to provide access to a computer and a desk. Workplaces are evolving to provide more specialized spaces in which to meet and collaborate with teammates and solve problems together that you can’t do as well alone or remotely.”

“One Lowenstein has been a great opportunity for our real estate practice to illustrate the same creativity and problemsolving we utilize for our clients, here propelling our own firm's investment in real estate that advances our goals,” said Hunter. “Set free from the traditional thinking about office space as a collection of individual workspaces, businesses are exploring buildings they wouldn’t typically consider. They are structuring space in a way that they wouldn’t have thought of previously, and making real estate decisions based on new economics to unlock their optimal business culture. In our case, the new One Lowenstein campus allows us to make our entrepreneurial personality work seamlessly in the city and in the suburbs, wherever our clients’ and professionals’ needs are best served.”

“The project is an outstanding collaboration between not just the principals but all the design professionals as well,” said Michael Seeve, President Mountain Development Corp. “The interior design supports an innovative, collaborative approach. Employees and guests are assured state-of-the art amenities and technologies within our 56 Livingston campus.”

Lowenstein Sandler is a national law firm with approximately 275 lawyers based in New York, Palo Alto, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington, D.C. The firm represents leaders in virtually every sector of the global economy, with particular emphasis on investment funds, life sciences, and technology. Recognized for its entrepreneurial spirit and high standard of client service, the firm is committed to the interests of its clients, colleagues, and communities.

Lowenstein Sandler 
www.lowenstein.com

All images courtesy of Lowenstein Sandler 

PPG 2018 Color of the Year: PPG1043-7 Black Flame

Start 2018 by dressing your home in the new neutral PPG 2018 Color of the Year, PPG1043-7 Black Flame 

According to PPG color experts, this statement-making black, infused with an undertone of the deepest indigo, evokes the privacy, hope and classic modernism that many consumers crave today. Embodying the spirit of a tailored tuxedo or a little black dress, it is dressed-up, coveted, unapologetic and – most importantly – timeless.



What is Black Flame?

“Black Flame acts like a black curtain, allowing your other décor elements to take center stage,” said Dee Schlotter, PPG senior color marketing manager. “It’s a fantastic blend of black and indigo, two classic hues. Black creates the silence we crave in an information-heavy world, while the indigo offers possibility and a deep hopefulness. The blend of two colors makes it incredibly versatile – use it on a statement wall, with a matte finish on a ceiling, with high gloss on a naturally-lit staircase, on cabinets, interior and exterior doors and in many more places. The versatile hue can also provide strength and a modern luxe vibe to spaces with a lot of whites, blush pinks and soft pastels.”

Choosing the Right Color

Black Flame was unanimously selected by PPG’s more than 20 color stylists from around the world, specializing in industries such as consumer electronics, architectural, automotive and aerospace. These experts study consumer insights, building material trends, décor trends and more to select a color forecast that is reflective of current consumer attitudes.

“We’re already seeing retailers reinventing the classic black hue in the form of building materials such as wood flooring, black tile, cabinets and window frames, as well as matte black appliances and décor items,” Schlotter noted.

“Black is often referred to as the absence of color, but it also signifies a rebirth. It has the unique ability to take away weakness in a space and allow for regeneration to make it even stronger,” she said. “Our societal craving for privacy is the catalyst to being tracked by technology, overworked and pressured to overshare via social media. PPG’s research showed some consumers want to balance this social obligation by hiding portions of their personal life from the public eye, which are reflected in their home décor and paint color preferences.”

See for Yourself

To try Black Flame, or any of the 2018 Global Color Trends hues on your walls, use PPG’s new online virtual room painter tool before visiting a paint store or lifting a brush. The tool offers advanced technology to apply any color to an uploaded photo of your own space, browse designer color collections and more.

Trendsetter Interiors Editors tried PPG’s online virtual room painter tool and here’s our selection of home design images using PPG 2018 Color of the Year, PPG1043-7 Black Flame.

Living Room

Kitchen

Dining Room

Bedroom

Bathroom

Exterior

For more information please visit:

PPG Paints
www.ppgpaints.com

Andre Kikoski Architect Designs $45 Million Oceanfront Home for Hampton’s Premiere Developer Jay Bialsky

Andre Kikoski, renowned for his work at the Guggenheim Museum, announced his newest project, a contemporary oceanfront home for Hamptons real estate magnate Jay Bialsky. 

Bialsky has built some of the most exceptional homes seen on Long Island’s East End for some of the Hamptons’ most discerning clientele. He turned to AIA Institute Honor Award-winning architect Kikoski for a residence that celebrates the stunning natural landscape, storied beauty, and expansive ocean views that are the best of the Hamptons.

"We wanted to create harmony among house, land and sea, something that took advantage of this unique oceanfront positioning, a contemporary design where you can almost feel the sand beneath your feet from any spot in the house," said Kikoski. "We’ve worked on NYC trophy penthouses where it was all about the views, but this home really takes the cake."

With an outstanding oceanfront location and deeded ocean access to a private section of Bridgehampton’s sought after beaches, this state-of-the-art home takes the indoor/outdoor living concept to the next level, with 10,000SF +/- of interior space complemented by over 12,000SF +/- of exterior space. The expansive exterior space features multiple outdoor living areas including a covered kitchen and dining area, rooftop deck with landscaping/garden, numerous outdoor lounges, custom infinity-edge pool, fire pit and outdoor shower. 

The combined 22,000 SF+/- of interior and exterior living space is afforded by the properties large and optimal building envelope being set in an AE Zone, which is rarely found in oceanfront properties. The superb location is captured by entire walls of glass that provide sweeping panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean from nearly every room in the house, while sunset vistas over stunning Mecox Bay can be enjoyed from the rooftop deck.

With a keen eye for any parcel's maximum potential, Bialsky is responsible for some of the most magnificent homes and developments on the East End, many of which have unparalleled views. Bialsky's exacting standards keep his homes in constant demand, "I don't buy any property or build any home I wouldn't want to live in myself," he says. 

The property is listed for $44.9M with Zachary and Cody Vichinsky of Bespoke Real Estate. Bespoke is a Hamptons based firm that only represents $10M and above properties . Kikoski is currently working on 75 Kenmare, a 90,000 SF residential development which recently broke ground in Nolita, with DHA Capital and the Kravitz Design Group. He is also the interior architect on the 325,000 SF tower by the Related Companies slated to open this summer at Hudson Yards. And AKA launched a line of home accessories with Swarovski Crystal at Salone de Mobile in Milan, Italy last April.

ABOUT THE DESIGN 
The design blends 10,000 square feet of interior living space over two levels with an equal area outside -- spread between three floors of invitingly landscaped decks and terraces. Interior and exterior lie side by side, gently joined together by 60-foot long expanses of automated structural sliding glass panels that disappear into exterior walls. The open-plan living and entertaining spaces, as well as the master suite, enjoy magnificent direct views of the Atlantic Ocean, Mecox Bay and the landscape beyond in every direction from the second level. A triple height glass atrium organizes vertical circulation within the house, filling the interior with the fabled natural light of the Hamptons at every moment of the day. A folded metal plate staircase connects this level to a spectacular rooftop entertaining garden.

Equally bold is the focal point of the first level – an expansive outdoor deck, poised above the grassy dunes and offering direct ocean views from the trellised open-air dining pavilion, bar and kitchen, as well as a fire pit with seating area and multiple landscaped lounging areas. The spectacular oceanfront infinity edge pool and spa, unique in being just steps from the beach, is however the centerpiece and star. These dramatic exterior spaces flow into informal indoor entertaining rooms, including a generous family room and high tech home theatre which also feature automated structural sliding glass wall panels. Six additional bedrooms, a home office, wine cellar, sauna, and six car garage round out the program. The residence is set amidst one and a half expertly landscaped acres with ample manicured lawns designed by award-winning landscape architect Edmund Hollander.

In addition to elegantly composed glass facades, with playfully proportioned window patterns, the exterior of the house is clad in simple honest materials such as cerused stucco and a randomly staggered horizontal screen of three different sizes of Brazilian Ipe wood components. The screen is inspired by Kikoski’s prior collaboration with artist Liam Gillick for a site-specific installation, and complements the clean lines of the exterior with an inviting dappling of shade and shadow.

ABOUT AKA 
Andre Kikoski, renowned for his work at the Guggenheim Museum, is an award-winning Manhattan-based architect, with more than 100 completed projects. His firm AKA has been featured in more than 700 publications across 27 countries, and has won over 30 design awards for interior design, architecture and product design. Andre is a Trustee of the Van Alen Institute and Alumni Council Emeritus at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

MINI LIVING "Forests" Installation by Asif Khan

MINI at the London Design Festival 2016

At the London Design Festival 2016, MINI is collaborating with Asif Khan, whose installation MINI LIVING "Forests" explores three interpretations of these "spaces between spaces".

In cities like London and New York, affordable places to live are in short supply. House/flat shares or one-bedroom apartments that fall within a reasonable budget offer barely enough room for our everyday needs. At the same time, the world of work is also undergoing a period of change as workplaces go mobile and self-employment blooms. These developments have led to "third places" – those that lie between work and home – growing in importance. At the London Design Festival 2016, MINI is collaborating with Asif Khan, whose installation MINI LIVING "Forests" explores three interpretations of these "spaces between spaces". They are each designed to encourage specific uses: relaxation, getting together or productivity. The design of the three spaces uses plants to improve city living.

"As an urban brand, MINI is well aware of the challenges affecting cities and of the complex ways in which mobility, architecture and the people who live in cities interact," explains Esther Bahne, Head of Brand Strategy and Business Innovation at MINI. "The MINI LIVING 'Forests' installation reflects our understanding of the 'creative use of space' when it comes to shared urban areas. And it sees us continuing the conversation on future city living which we started with the 'MINI LIVING – Do Disturb' installation at this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan.”

The city as an extension of our personal space.

Third places already provide important contact points in our modern urban society. They are places where we meet and relax, or places offering certain services, which are generally privately owned and food/drink-related. Freelancers, for example, often use cafés as offices and restaurants as meeting rooms. As a result, these venues do not fulfil their purposes as such, instead merely performing add-on roles. And many are not open to all or places you can make your own. At the London Design Festival, MINI and Asif Khan are putting forward an alternative approach to third places as we currently know them, creating spaces which can be accessed by the public, used as desired by each visitor and tailored to the needs of our urban society. What makes this fascinating is their focus on “activating” potential spaces in the city, at the same time as offering its population new ways to use them. "Increasing urban density around the world requires us to find new creative avenues for utilising the space we have and the potential it offers," says Oke Hauser, Creative Lead for MINI LIVING. "The invigoration of our public spaces and the way they link in with our private spheres provide particularly broad scope for re-thinking our cities and our approach to urban planning."

MINI is using the motto "Your Side of Town" to urge people visiting the installations to discover the city and the ways in which its spaces can be used, and to bring them to life to their own benefit.

The concept.

MINI joined forces with London-based Asif Khan, who investigated the "third places" theme by using urban greenery to design a series of installations. "My response to the theme is inspired by the Japanese concept of 'shinrin yoku', which literally means 'forest bathing'. It means every sense switches to absorb the forest atmosphere, what you hear, what you smell, even the feeling underfoot. On another level, we use plants as a tool to assert our personal space at its boundary with public space, whether on our desk at the office or at the perimeter of our home. The project brings these two ideas together for visitors to experience new sensations within the city," says Khan.

The three installations are located within walking distance of one another in Shoreditch, London, forming a network that visitors can explore and experience. Their clear material language creates a deliberate contrast to Shoreditch’s urban setting. They are all rectangular forms, with walls made from several layers of transparent, corrugated polycarbonate. The green of the plants shines through the walls and offers an early indication of the fascinating setting inside. From the inside, the materials of the walls construct a purposefully diffused connection with the outside world and, as a result, generate an intimate, private space amid the hustle and bustle beyond.

Connect. Create. Relax.

The three rooms that make up the installation differ in both external size and intended usage. Inside as well, each installation greets the visitor with a unique landscape. The Connect Space is a place for meeting up and catching up – spontaneously or pre-planned. A large table forms the centrepiece of the room, which can be used as an evening dining area, for example. The plants both allow visitors to immerse themselves deeply in the forest ambience and play their part in an extremely intense communication experience.

The Create Space offers the best possible ambience in which to focus on work; it represents an island of creativity and productivity. The flexible arrangement of furnishings inside means the space can be used in a variety of ways. One wall reveals a terraced landscape, providing the ideal backdrop for pitches and presentations, for example.

The Relax Space welcomes visitors with an abundance of plants. If offers space in which to take a step back, switch off from the hectic nature of everyday life and relax. Visitors enter via the underside of the installation. Once inside, a bench invites them to take a breather. The vertical space draws the eye upwards, prompting a change of perspective and an avenue for contemplation.

MINI's exploration of third places and the solutions that improve urban life will continue later this year with the launch of a new, long-term initiative in the U.S. A/D/O, a 23,000 square-foot (2,000+ square meter) space for design in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, will introduce a diverse programme of resources for creative professionals, including a prototyping studio, in-house accelerator and open workspace. Built for designers, yet open to the general public, A/D/O will cultivate a platform for dynamic discourse that seeks to become a prolific source of ideas for the future.

The MINI LIVING "Forests" installation is open to the public and available for use during the London Design Festival (17 – 25 September).

Location Addresses:
Vince Court, N1 6EA
Charles Square Gardens, N1 6HS
Corner of Pitfield Street and Charles Square, EC1V 9EY

Opening Times*:
17 September: 10.00 – 20.00 hrs
18 September: 10.00 – 18.00 hrs
19 September: 08.00 – 20.00 hrs
20 September: 08.00 – 22.00 hrs
21 September: 08.00 – 21.00 hrs
22 September: 08.00 – 20.00 hrs
23 September: 08.00 – 20.00 hrs
24 September: 10.00 – 20.00 hrs
25 September: 10.00 – 18.00 hrs

* All times are GMT.

All images courtesy of BMW Group - bmwgroup.com