FactSet, a financial data and software company, moved to The Towers at Merritt River to bring their Connecticut-based employees together, in one office, and provide state of the art amenities in an open environment. Balancing their need for privacy with their desire for transparency, was Cerami’s first goal.

Cerami was to bridge the me/we space in this new open office environment and provide a signature voice to correlate with the design.  Additionally, FactSet’s main boardroom is right up against the building’s main mechanical room and Cerami needed to make sure that all communication, often globally, wouldn’t be affected.

Signature Solution: Think about this. You want to assure that there is privacy in huddle rooms.  But you want those very same rooms to be flexible enough to shuffle them around using demountable partitions. You don’t have to be an acoustical engineer to see that that creates a real challenge. Through an iterative process, Cerami, along with Perkins Eastman, and the client, tested various demountable partition installations and fixtures to develop a matrix of acoustical performance options. Additionally, programmatic requirements utilizing emerging technology on a large scale were needed to be manageable with a limited supply staff.

The analytics spoke for itself and achieved the discretion they desired.

For over 130 years, National Geographic Society has been at the forefront of research, exploration, and conservation to help protect our planet. Through science, technology, and storytelling, they have altered the way we understand and view the world. In order to sustain their mission and allow for future growth, National Geographic embarked on a mission to create an urban campus that reflects its culture, brand and philanthropic legacy.

The modernization of National Geographic’s headquarters in Washington, DC consisted of substantial renovation of significant portions of the 1600 M Street and historical 16^th Street campus locations. Cerami worked alongside JLL and Hickok Cole Architects to design a workplace environment that is visually stimulating, flexible, and fosters collaboration.

The new office was designed as an open work environment with emphasis on shared spaces, unifying multiple departments together and encouraging interactions amongst colleagues. Centralized communal area and various conference and meeting rooms encouraged lively conversations, while the full-service conference center on the second floor provided a flexible space for leaders, guests, and staff to convene and host mission-related events.

Signature Solution: Two sets of design standards were employed to the project, National Geographic Society’s standard and National Geographic Partners’ standards. Cerami’s information technology, security, audiovisual, and acoustical design services were engaged to support the phased renovation.

Acoustical design was focused on sound isolation to improve speech privacy of office spaces and conferences rooms, and vibration isolation of HVAC units to ensure noise code adherence.

Technology design was focused on delivering similar system capabilities and user interface across all rooms types, as well as providing future-ready system designs that can be iterated, upgraded, and eventually superseded without affecting the building infrastructure.

A complete campus security redesign was deployed, replacing the card access and video surveillance platforms with an integrated intelligent electronic Access Control System and the new Video Surveillance System designed in National Geographic Society’s standards. Systems were focused on user-friendly and self-service technology that incorporated interactive capabilities and collaborative tools. Reliable structured cabling systems that support current and emerging technologies to meet present and future needs was also incorporated.

We are the acoustic designers for world’s biggest technology company and have been bringing their signature voice to life in all their spaces in New York City, including 111 Eighth Avenue and Chelsea Market. Paramount to our client is balancing their open workspace, while placing a high value on boundaries, privacy, and comfort. Designing eclectic space types, ranging from open plan office, huddle/meeting spaces, Tech Talk areas, phone rooms, and various nooks & crannies is a balancing act that, creating an interesting mix of acoustical challenges.

Signature Solution: 111 Eighth Avenue began as a gritty and industrial Port Authority facility, with truck pits and noisy mechanical equipment. In its second life, this building became a carrier hotel for internet businesses, housing miles of complex cabling and even larger, noisier cooling systems. Now it its 3rd evolution, our client has been claiming more spaces throughout the building, albeit the noisy data center equipment remains. Cerami has helped them navigate the acoustical challenges of the building, while maintaining the high level of comfort expected by their hustling and bustling workforce.

There’s always a buzz surrounding this giant search company, as they continue to expand their footprint in Chelsea. Fortunately, there is just the right amount of buzz inside.