A contemporary office interior design featuring a sleek dark wood reception desk, marble slab reception logo wall, and stylish seating. The large scale contemporary painting is part of the client's significant all-minority-artists collection. A striking oval spiral staircase leads up to the private office level.

Hellman & Friedman

The Challenge

Smart Culture Investment for Private Equity Firm

Hellman & Friedman asked Urban Chalet to predict where office design was headed in the post-Covid world and to create a beautiful new space that pushed traditional boundaries and inspired staff and clients.

 

After a forced Covid shut down, we knew that the working environment would need to be radically different when people returned to the office from a spatial, wellness and technology perspective. We wanted people to be inspired, feel supported and welcomed into the new space. The functionality needed to accommodate new ways of working as well, and have flexibility for transitions in the company’s future. “This project required a lot of creative visioning and we were up for it,” says Angela Sarmiento, CEO + Principal.

An expansive modern office collaboration area with a large island, mixed seating options, and bistro seating with stellar views of the skyscrapers in Midtown Manhattan's financial hub.
A large breakout collaborative flex space, with a massive island table for lunch, a sleek modern chandelier, and a large built in television for presentations with a functional catering buffet station below

The Result

Bringing Hospitality to the Workplace

A financial services company after-all, the new corporate offices exude professionalism and elegance. Our team curated high-caliber design elements with a hospitality feel reminiscent of boutique hotels such as the sleek, intimate library featuring wet bar and leather seating, ideal for entertaining clients. Warm wood and cool stone finishes create balance throughout the space and envelop the team and its client base into the sophisticated environment. The elegant, acoustically private boardroom – with a calming neutral palette – creates a feeling of formality and warmth at the same time. And as a wellness benefit to employees, the office includes a well-outfitted gym with luxe locker rooms.

This private Library meeting room is the most popular space in the new Hellman & Friedman office with staff - it's inviting warm tone is set by generous built in shelving, a vibrant custom contemporary rug, and comfortable seating. This hospitality flavored room is both a fully functional telepresence meeting space and comfortable lounge in one.

Balancing Communal Spaces with Sophistication + Privacy

Important face-to-face meetings and spontaneous strategy sessions were missed during the work from home period, so we elevated these experiences in the new design. An open “breakout” kitchen is the nucleus of the new office, much like how residential kitchens are now the central gathering place of homes. Hellman & Friedman’s modern, bright kitchen features a large island with ample seating for casual lunches, formal meetings or catered gatherings. While considering optimal functionality, we added an adjacent, private prep area that caterers can utilize when the company hosts clients.

A sleek modern office interior design showcasing a significant painting, part of the all-minority-artists collection, that enhances the workspace's aesthetic appeal. This corner of the communal cafe breakout flex space shows a custom dining bench seat with power for laptops, several bistro tables for individual lunches, and a comfortable lounge area with four chairs overlooking the skyline.
A well-equipped mini bar kitchen in the Library showcasing balanced contemporary interior design with warm wood and cool stone finishes. This beverage bar includes refrigerator drawers, a wine fridge, ice maker, and ample storage for quickly catering smaller client gatherings booked to this meeting space, along with functionally decorative suspended glass open shelves to accent the space that showcase a colorful collection of bar glassware.
A part of the wellness focused private gym locker room facilities, this stylish bathroom design includes a walk-in accessible shower and a polished marble counter, reflecting contemporary aesthetics. Once again we're balancing warm toned wood finishes with cooler stone and tile for an inviting feel.
A corner of the welcoming Library meeting room, featuring a plush leather couch, an elegant coffee table, a colorful custom contemporary silk rug, and lit built-in library shelves staged with an array of elegant coffee table books to entertain clients and partners seeking downtime between meetings.
A spacious modern 12-person conference room featuring highly functional acoustic glass partition walls, acoustic fabric and foam wrapped wall panels, and expansive floor-to-ceiling windows that look out into the skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan's financial hub, allowing natural light to illuminate the space.

To cultivate even more collaborative settings within the office, we placed a cafe-style coffee bar – bathed in natural light and offering comfy seating – on the upper floor. Numerous private and functional spaces balance the communal areas and offer moments of exploration and discovery within the layout. Offices and “phone booths” with thoughtful acoustics and powered furniture create flexible spaces that can be used as drop-in offices, and for virtual, in-person meetings, or a combination of both.

Interior view of the private wellness gym with a contemporary interior design, equipped with a treadmill and a bike on a rubber motion isolated raised floor, promoting an active lifestyle for the employees. Those who use this equipment have a multi-million dollar view looking at the skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan.
A well-lit luxury gym room adorned with mirrors on the walls and open floor space on the motion-isolated rubber floor provides an expansive feel for exercise and training. This specialized gold metal mesh diamond panel ceiling treatment offers a strong aesthetic and warms the tone of the space, while functionally serving to hide the additional ventilation equipment that keeps the private gym air clean and inviting. The warm wood paneled towel and water station echoes the finishes of the locker rooms.

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