

The heavy timber and abundance of brick is part of the character of the space, but it’s also overwhelming. It also enhanced the mesmerizing views of the East River and Manhattan skyline framed between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. The use of light shelves, reflective flooring and view corridors ensured that each window’s impact on the space was maximized and the inherently dark warehouse was turned into a bright and airy space suitable for design teams and creatives.
#West elm dumbo windows#
The exterior walls are almost two foot thick masonry and there are very few windows in portions of the building. A lot to achieve in one space.Ĭreating a gallery feel in the dark warehouse was a challenge. The space also needed to function as a showroom for the new west elm WORKSPACE furniture line. VMAD wanted to develop an environment that celebrates and showcases the brand’s design aesthetic, one that incorporates custom artistic elements created by west elm’s world design partners and local Brooklyn artists. VMAD worked with west elm to create a timeless and sophisticated space – more like an art gallery than a trendy office environment. The west elm brand ethos is at the core of VMAD’s design for the company’s new office. project led by Mark Murashige and Kay Vorderwuelbecke, the principals at VMAD, located in the historic 150 year old Empire Stores Warehouse complex on the waterfront in Brooklyn. West Elm’s awe inspiring growth over the past 12 years, from a catalog-only business to a billion-dollar global retailer meant that, yet again, they needed a new corporate headquarters.

With each expansion, West Elm returned to VMAD for assistance in creating ever more sophisticated and unique environments. During that time, they have designed and fit-up four office spaces, a photo studio, a maker’s studio, and several new retail outlets for the growing brand. VM Architecture and Design (VMAD) has been working with West Elm since the brand was launched in 2002. company), located in New York City, New York. VM Architecture and Design designed the headquarters of furniture provider West Elm (a Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
