NEW YORK, March 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Boies Schiller Flexner, the leading law firm, has opened its new headquarters at 55 Hudson Yards. Designed by architecture and design firm Schiller Projects, the more than 100,000-square-foot office is situated across four floors (18 – 21) of the new building developed by Related Companies, Oxford and Mitsui. The office is distinguished by a 4,000-square-foot cafe, mixed- use work rooms, conference lounges, call rooms, libraries, open platform offices for, and dozens of collaboration spaces. A result of an in-depth workplace strategy assessment evaluating the best way for BSF's litigators to work, the new offices are groundbreaking for the legal profession: fostering collaboration and innovation unlike any other.
Hallway and office detail, Boies Schiller Flexner HQ at 55 Hudson Yards
Stair, conference room and The Ribbons, Boies Schiller Flexner HQ at 55 Hudson Yards
Top floor view of stair and The Ribbons, Boies Schiller Flexner HQ at 55 Hudson Yards
Detail of concrete curved walls, Boies Schiller Flexner HQ at 55 Hudson Yards
"Our innovative new headquarters at Hudson Yards anchors our growing, global law firm. We are thrilled to have partnered with Related Companies, whose full-service team has developed a great building that we are able to capitalize on. We are already seeing the impact of the dynamic office design in how our lawyers interact and collaborate," said David Boies, Chairman of BSF.
"The remarkable and distinct design of our new headquarters grew out of our architect-led firm-wide study of how we work," added Jonathan Schiller, Managing Partner of Boies Schiller Flexner. "This space allows us optimally to engage with each other and with clients including through open and collaborative workspaces for our trial lawyers. The location is also perfect as we have core clients moving into our building an elevator ride away and into the surrounding extensive Hudson Yards development generally; and the 7 train direct to Grand Central is just beneath our feet. In our first few weeks here, we find our offices magical. Lawyers and non-legal staff have said to me 'I love our new offices.' That is a welcome and uncommon endearment by lawyers for their offices that highlights the productivity and wellbeing we are already experiencing at Hudson Yards."
Boies Schiller Flexner's new headquarters anchors the newly opened 55 Hudson Yards located on 11th Avenue between 33rd and 34th streets, the second building to open in the visionary reimagining of Midtown West. 55 Hudson Yards, designed by A. Eugene Kohn of Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), is a 1.3-million-square-foot office building located at the intersection of Hudson Yards, the High Line and Hudson Park & Boulevard. The LEED Gold-designed building stands 780 feet tall with the entrance located just across from the No. 7 Subway station. Hudson Yards is the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States and the largest development in New York City since Rockefeller Center.
ABOUT THE OFFICE The design of BSF's new offices is anchored by a dramatic new entry sequence to the firm's headquarters, flanked by glass-enclosed conference rooms, pulled back from the exterior to allow attorneys and clients to always be connected to daylight; a three-story curved steel staircase; monolithic concrete textured walls throughout, featuring a signature curvature; black terrazzo flooring; and a monumental sweeping artwork, "The Ribbons," made from metal beads, which unifies the central common areas across three stories. Based upon the law firm's design brief, the lead architects, Schiller Projects, has unified the space to foster collaboration, which defines the firm's litigation practice.
"We worked closely with the firm: leading workshops, establishing performance metrics for their existing spaces, delving into analysis on how the firm gets its work done and how we can design their space around their culture," said Aaron Schiller, principal of Schiller Projects. "Our solutions reflect this rigorous re-think of how a law firm space can fit its workplace culture, brand, and processes. Open curvilinear ceilings flow around each corner promoting connection and supporting planned as well unplanned collaboration across the whole workplace."
The orientation of the space reverses the archetype of the corner office: associates are moving to a semi-open office platform. These open work spaces rim the exterior of the building and feature panoramic views of the Hudson River, while partners' offices are set just to the interior and feature floor to ceiling glass enclosures, recessed lighting, custom curvilinear concrete walls and plenty of shared daylight and views. Each work station is equipped with custom sit-to-stand white oak desks. There are 12 conference rooms; 22 pop-in/pop-out use work rooms designed to support the firm's culture of collaboration; a library; and 24 private phone rooms. Within 25 feet of every attorney's desk are breakout spaces designed to support instant meetings with sit-to-stand capacity and full digital services for up to 5 people. Hospitality services are provided by Great Performances in the 4,000-square-foot café and the full-service coffee bar on the 19th Floor.
ABOUT 55 HUDSON YARDS The exterior of 55 Hudson Yards was inspired by the revitalized High Line district, the manufactured cast iron exterior of SoHo commercial buildings and the best of early modernism. While the building references the solid exterior of the City's classic cast iron buildings, it also shares their expansive windows and interior light. 55 Hudson Yards offers floor-to-ceiling glass throughout the building, bringing light streaming across the entirety of each floor and helping to promote the open skyline and river views it enjoys. 55 Hudson Yards is one of four office towers underway at Hudson Yards that includes 10 Hudson Yards, home to Coach Inc., L'Oréal USA and SAP, and 30 Hudson Yards, home to Warner Media.
Hudson Yards is the largest private real estate development in the nation's history. It is anticipated that more than 24 million people will visit Hudson Yards every year. Hudson Yards is an entirely new neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side that will include more than 18 million square feet of commercial and residential space; more than 100 shops, including New York City's first Neiman Marcus; a collection of restaurants; approximately 4,000 residences; The Shed -- New York's first arts center to commission new work across the performing arts, visual arts, and popular culture; 14 acres of public open space; a 750-seat public school and an Equinox Hotel® all offering unparalleled amenities for residents, employees and guests.
Hudson Yards will be accessible to the entire region with connections to commuter rail, the subway system, the West Side Highway, the Lincoln Tunnel and ferries along the Hudson River. Grand Central Terminal is six minutes away by subway, and Penn Station, the nation's busiest train station, a short walk. The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards and the Public Square and Gardens, along with its centerpiece designed by Thomas Heatherwick, will all open on March 15th.
ABOUT BOIES SCHILLER FLEXNER Boies Schiller Flexner LLP (www.bsfllp.com) is one of the premier law firms in the United States, regularly serving as lead counsel in the biggest, highest-profile disputes and representing some of the world's largest and most sophisticated organizations when the results matter most.
ABOUT SCHILLER PROJECTS Schiller Projects is analytics driven New York-based design consultancy founded in 2013. Leveraging our expertise in built design, graphic design, branding and strategy we develop information-based client-centric solutions ranging from the home to product design and branding and to the strategic workplace experience. Aaron Schiller was recently awarded with a merit award from the 2017 AIA New England Design Awards Program and we received The Architects Newspaper award for emerging firms for 2017.
ABOUT RELATED COMPANIES Founded over 40 years ago, Related Companies is a fully-integrated, highly diversified industry leader with experience in virtually every aspect of development, acquisitions, management, finance, fund management, marketing and sales. The Company's existing portfolio of real estate assets, valued at over $20 billion, is made up of best-in-class mixed-use, residential, retail, office, trade show and affordable properties in premier high-barrier-to-entry markets. Headquartered in New York City, Related has offices and major developments in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, South Florida, Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi, London, São Paulo and Shanghai, and is well-known for having developed the 2.8 million square foot Time Warner Center in New York City and the 72-acre CityPlace in West Palm Beach as well as being a leader in green building. For more information, please visit www.related.com
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