This New York Coworking Space Reimagines the Cubicle
For some, the cubicle has become a symbol of a bygone era of office layouts. For Austin, Texas-based practice Architecture Office, this dated workstation served as the inspiration for its airy and modern design of ShareCuse, a new 3,200-square-foot coworking space in Syracuse, N.Y.
“We were interested in understanding how we could interrupt the traditional repetition of the cubicles without subdividing them, as well as encourage connection and the relationship between singular and shared office spaces," explain Architecture Office co-principles Nicole McIntosh and Jonathan Louie. “The traditional cubicle and its half-wall fosters a semi-private working space, yet visually disconnects you from the rest of the office."
Drawing inspiration from American installation artist Robert Irwin, McIntosh and Louie decided to install custom freestanding architectural cubes featuring opaque half-walls, various 3-foot by 7-foot apertures that act as doors or windows and promote engagement between workers, and black mesh screens to foster a more open environment while preserving some seclusion. The unique black mesh screens shift character as one moves around the space, appearing as monolithic single forms from afar but transforming into layers of translucent scrim that exhibits the offices within as one approaches.
"We found the visual properties of the scrim interesting as a semi-private wall that appears differently from different viewpoints," say the designers.
Inside, desks with individual gold-tinted light bulbs offer space for collaboration or individual work.
“The [cubicles] act as a series of minimal objects that occupy, frame, and define regions by inhabiting a larger room," Louie explains.
“By grouping the cubicle structures into quadrants, we imagine workers moving around the objects and interacting within the shared office landscape," McIntosh continues.
Located in a historic 1928 office building in the city's downtown district, ShareCuse can accommodate up to 25 people spread throughout the reimagined modular cubicles, as well as across seven private offices, a lounge area, a telephone booth, a kitchen, and a conference room.
McIntosh and Louie paired the black aluminum cubicle forms with an industrial and monochromatic black and gray material palette that “further facilitates visual connection and the modulation of flow and lounge spaces," according to the duo. The space features an exposed raw concrete ceiling and concrete flooring throughout with charcoal area rugs by MYFELT and West Elm. Though nearby windows offer ample natural light, Architecture Office installed a grid of 48-inch-long LED strip lights between the concrete and steel beams for uniform illumination.
For the furnishings, the firm selected wood chairs that are painted black, white, and desaturated pink. To distinguish lounge areas, Louie and McIntosh specified grey and blue velvet chairs with brass legs, some of the only pops of color in the office. Meanwhile, the kitchen is anchored by a monolithic 30-foot-long custom black island with 16 built-in lockers, shelving, undercounter refrigerators, a sink, and a dishwasher.
“Our aim was to design a flexible office organization that does not kill the work environment," McIntosh says.
