Female-Powered Creative Mecca Comes to Philadelphia
Female-owned branding and design firm Cohere recently launched a creative destination in Philadelphia's former industrial district. Not only does the space serve as the new headquarters for Cohere, which specializes in revitalizing abandoned spaces among other marketing and branding design strategies, it is also a creative venue that's bringing a community of innovators together.
The 3,800-square-foot space—which includes a food lab, floral studio, rotating art and furniture gallery, and photo lab—is an industrial, light-flooded locale with 13-foot ceilings, designed to be a testing ground for artists, chefs, and designers to build their next great vision in the up-and-coming Spring Arts district.
Designed by Cohere in partnership with local urban developer Craig Grossman of Arts & Crafts Holdings, the space was completed in January 2020 and opened to the public a month later. With this launch, the team at Cohere has done for themselves exactly what they do for clients—transform an underutilized space into a purposeful and valuable addition to their neighborhood.
The result? A female-powered creative mecca for the company as well as the community.
“Our mission is to help transform any abandoned building into something new and authentic to the neighborhood," says Antoinette Marie Johnson, CEO and founder of Cohere (pictured above). “So we approached our own headquarters just as we would the transformation of any adaptive reuse space."
Preserving History
It was essential to Cohere that they revitalize the space while preserving the history of the former industrial district. Now featuring artist studios, breweries, and restaurants, the Spring Arts district once housed a printing press, a bicycle manufacturing company, a tannery, and a railroad office. Plus, the history of the neighborhood has uniquely female energy, says Johnson.
During World War I, many industrial companies in Philadelphia employed women to replace the men who were overseas, she explains. So when Johnson's team found historic photos of women working in their building—formerly a cigar banding factory—they were thrilled by the similarities to their modern, woman-owned branding agency.
“We're proud to be part of the emergence of feminine leadership in our generation," says Johnson. “The fact that it is full circle at Spring Arts validates this move even more."
However, paying equal respect to past and present in building design can be easier said than done.
“Our industrial space had both the magic and the difficulties of an old space," says Johnson. Particular challenges included open ceilings without lighting and brick walls that gave the impression of a cold space. “We decided to prioritize the history through texture and infrastructure by keeping nods of the building's former use, while solving for modern office use needs."
Design elements include a large, open, industrial space with clerestory windows and exposed structural trusses. In order to maximize natural light, the team added salvaged chicken-wire windows that expand light and reflect the older parts of the site. They also added residential lights to warm up the space.
Putting Local Artisans First
Johnson prioritized local fabricators and vintage mid-century modern furniture, choosing pieces from design partners who have helped furnish restaurant and hotel projects with Cohere (which also has offices in Baltimore and Brooklyn, N.Y.).
Notable pieces include a large, repurposed Austrian gymnastic mat coffee table from Zinc Home in Lambertville, NJ; a range of chairs and sofa from Dyphor in Brooklyn; custom pillows in trendy pastel colors from Adaptations in Brooklyn; and a vintage Jax coffee table, mid-century modern chairs, and mid-century-inspired glass conference room table from Copper+Plaid in Brooklyn.
An exposed “stud" wall painted in a rose color adds to the décor—the perfect motif for Cohere's feminine voice in real estate development and branding.
Promoting Creative Collaboration
For Johnson, it was important to include several different types of meeting areas in the new location.
“The traditional agency model of 10-hour workdays behind a computer is dead," she says. “We built our space on the belief that our employees deserve a mix of activities throughout the day—from popping into our food lab to cook with ingredients we grew on site, to assisting a photographer with a 3D animation photo shoot."
As such, the design of the new site provides energy for creative collaboration, and reflects an experimental culture. It's truly a contiguous space for employees—and the local community—to enjoy all things creative.
Like many workspaces and businesses required to close as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Cohere is finding innovative ways to engage its customers while maintaining social distancing requirements. Like many, they're going virtual.
Prior to closures, Cohere hosted weekly “Lunch & Learns” out of its food lab. Since then, the company has moved these events to the virtual space for employees as well as the general public. These free events feature a new topic each week, such as “How to Grow Mushrooms from Home” and “Jump-starting Zero Waste in Your Office or Business.”
In addition, the branding and design firm offers daily virtual comedic yoga classes, and they recently hosted their first virtual “Dine & Design” class, live from a local Italian restaurant.
