Phillips New York

PHILLIPS is recognized worldwide for expertise in fine art, watches, design and jewelry with a keen eye for beauty, quality, and detail.

The Phillips New York headquarters at 432 Park Avenue is immediately recognizable from the street. The one-of-a-kind, below-ground, open mezzanine is directly visible through the transparent walls of a white glass modernist structure, the Park Avenue Cube.

According to Edward Dolman, Executive Chairman of Phillips, this design concept proposed by studioMDA led Phillips to select them due to their consistent design excellence. studioMDA’s design transformed the gallery experience by creating flexible spaces.

The flexible space consists of a system of “Zones” that can be divided into separate rooms or opened into a large presentation hall. The attraction of the design of the new space is how it addresses the changing nature of the users of the area. Little did anyone know at the time that Phillips’ executive office workspace would desire these same concepts after 2020.

Furnishing Executive Office Space

In addition to the public auction space, Phillips also has 19,000 square feet of executive office space on the third floor with direct elevator access to the gallery below. The Phillips team selected Jefferson Group as their furnishings partner for this area. Jefferson Group worked closely with the entire project team through the process to ensure furniture and ancillary areas were coordinated and installed successfully.

When visiting these offices from 36 E 57th Street, the elevator opens directly into the reception area. This area includes a custom reception desk with sanitary glass, a seating collection, and a custom millwork bookcase and cabinets.

Office and Desk area Furniture

Turning the corner, we come to the main office area. A custom bookcase/planter creates a natural hallway and divider between the glass-wall private offices, the “Boardroom” conference room, and the open desk area without enclosing the space.

The floor to ceiling windows let in a fantastic amount of natural light. The space consists of two large open desking areas. The open workspace consist of rows of AIS Oxygen desking in the center area and individual AIS Matrix paneled workstations align the windows.

The Oxygen bench system incorporates a center structural spine beam to accommodate electrical and data needs. To maximizing space, the center rail can support fabric screens, glass screens, monitor arms, task lights and accessories.

The Matrix panel system has virtually unlimited capacity for electrical/data routing that can be accessed at any height. It is completely customizable and the modular foundation ensure the system will grow and evolve as needed.

Glass walls enclose the corner area of windows to create The Boardroom. An Enwork conference table with embedded technology and power connections is the room’s centerpiece.

A casual sitting area ties together the wood accents and white seating with the bookcase and reception area.

A row of individual private offices divides the two open desking areas. The offices utilize full-height seamless glass walls to take full advantage of the natural light. Each office incorporates a flexible OFS Staks desk and shelving system configured to meet each office’s needs. Staks furniture fosters a habitat that feels personal and natural, including beautiful wood legs that evoke an intimate sense of home for private offices while still reflecting the larger workplace aesthetic. The wood accents and clean white surfaces continue the style motif.

Touch down Spaces / Casual Conference Areas

In addition to the conference rooms, Phillips holds informal meetings and collaborative sessions in the “Think Tank” and “The Hub”. These are touch-down spaces defined by glass walls, end-tables and often include media connections to share a screen or video call. Touch-down areas are easier to install than formal drywall construction, provide more room than phone booths, and better acoustic isolation than meeting booths.

The Think Tank includes a counter height table and chairs, while the Hub utilizes a traditional table and chair set-up.

Photography by Mike Van Tassell

Much of the back office activity involves researching items that come in for appraisal and auction. Phillips has an extensive library with floor-to-ceiling shelves to house their many research books. With flexible furniture, re-configuring the room for a large group or several smaller break-out groups is easily accomplished.

The last room we’ll explore is the executive conference room that overlooks the Park Avenue Cube and Plaza. This space is furnished with a Krug conference table and 6 executive leather chairs.