May 17, 2020

CIVILIVN Creates Flexible Work Space for NYC Non-Profit Exalt

A central, custom demountable break-out table hosts informal meetings while secreting storage space. Photography by James Chororos.

New York City’s Exalt non-profit offers educational engagement for youths involved in the criminal justice system, helping to break up the school-to-prison pipeline. Flexible work environments help further this important mission, which is why they asked CIVILIVN to transform an overstuffed space in a 1901 lower Manhattan office tower into a new headquarters filled with light and possibilities.

A meeting area offers Kembo armchairs and vintage side tables from Amsterdam ModernPhotography by James Chororos.

“It’s a synthesis of the existing building and the programmatic needs of the clients,” says CIVILIVN principal Nicko Elliot. “We had three main features we looked to implement: creating one big room that everyone could participate in, offering layers of transference to provide more visual access to the harbor, and generating a greater sense of connectivity inside the space.”

In Common With pendants join ample natural light to illuminate the space. Photography by James Chororos.

The result is 4,000 square feet that can transform from office to classroom to library to communal space, with full-height partitions of perforated metal serving as screens for zones dedicated to staff, a pantry, and printing and IT rooms. “We aimed to create something professional and youthful without being pandering,” Elliot says. It’s a mission achieved so that Exalt could keep realizing its own.

The conference room hosts a table and task chairs by KIPhotography by James Chororos.
The workstation’s task chairs are by White on WhitePhotography by James Chororos.
Custom storage units on casters form mobile libraries throughout the office. Photography by James Chororos.

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