Coalesse seating gathers at the fourth floor landing of the custom walnut stairs, with maple inlays and painted steel rods, which lead to the seventh floor.
Coalesse seating gathers at the fourth floor landing of the custom walnut stairs, with maple inlays and painted steel rods, which lead to the seventh floor.

July 25, 2022

Words: Jesse Dorris

Photography: Kendall McCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers

Eastlake Studio Looks to Art Deco and Art Commissions for a Grand Rapids Downtown Office

When a client approached Chicago’s Eastlake Studio to redesign its 160,000 square foot, seven-floor interdisciplinary office building, the firm embarked on a two-year collaboration with AMDG Architects resulting in a rethink of everything from the floor plan to the graphic exterior.

A monumental new staircase, rising between a glass wall to the east and a lush green wall, forms the spine of the office, connecting floors four through seven and their various shared outdoor spaces, flexible workspaces, and meeting and break rooms. The team looked to local manufactures like Haworth and Herman Miller for furnishings. But the heart of the project is a 90-piece art collection, developed in collaboration with Chicago’s DeGroot Fine Art, and an equally artful design for reception. 

“We developed the pattern for the wood feature walls by taking the organization’s logo and extrapolating it into minimalist geometry,” says senior designer Megan Stroud. “Then, we added dimension to it by rotating and alternating the wood grain direction in each panel.” The gesture was so successful that the team repeated it in the outside corridor of the top-floor boardroom, in the terrazzo floor pattern, and for graphics throughout the project. It’s a forward-thinking reference to the area’s Art Deco history, a blend of yesterday and tomorrow that suits the office culture perfectly. 

The custom walls of the reception area are clear quartered walnut wood veneer with brass transition strips; the desk is the same wood, with a transition of Difiniti quartz.
The custom walls of the reception area are clear quartered walnut wood veneer with brass transition strips; the desk is the same wood, with a transition of Difiniti quartz.
In the private elevator lobby on the fifth floor, Bernhardt sofas surround a Restoration Hardware table on a Masland rug, near consoles by Blu Dot.
In the private elevator lobby on the fifth floor, Bernhardt sofas surround a Restoration Hardware table on a Masland rug, near consoles by Blu Dot.
A hanging paper sculpture by Beatrice Spadea defines the sixth-floor executive lounge, with a custom quartz hearth, Poltrona Frau chair, and tables by Mitchell Gold Bob Williams on a Scott Group Studio rug.
A hanging paper sculpture by Beatrice Spadea defines the sixth-floor executive lounge, with a custom quartz hearth, Poltrona Frau chair, and tables by Mitchell Gold Bob Williams on a Scott Group Studio rug.
In the seventh floor boardroom, a custom Cambria millwork surround frames a 15’-foot-long digital painting by Petra Cortright.
In the seventh floor boardroom, a custom Cambria millwork surround frames a 15-foot-long digital painting by Petra Cortright.
On the seventh floor, an executive lounge boasts a Mitchell Gold Bob Williams sofa, Fogia armchairs, Bernhardt coffee table, and custom quartz hearth with Cambria ledge; the meeting room in the rear offers a Halcon table and Geiger chairs, with artwork by Sol LeWitt.
On the seventh floor, an executive lounge boasts a Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams sofa, Fogia armchairs, Bernhardt coffee table, and custom quartz hearth with Cambria ledge; the meeting room in the rear offers a Halcon table and Geiger chairs, with artwork by Sol LeWitt.
Coalesse seating gathers at the fourth floor landing of the custom walnut stairs, with maple inlays and painted steel rods, which lead to the seventh floor.
Coalesse seating gathers at the fourth floor landing of the custom walnut stairs, with maple inlays and painted steel rods, which lead to the seventh floor.
A Halcon table with custom quartz top and custom walnut and quartz consoles define the third floor dining and meeting room for executives, with Grand Rapids Chair Co. seating covered in Maharam mohair.
A Halcon table with custom quartz top and custom walnut and quartz consoles define the third floor dining and meeting room for executives, with Grand Rapids Chair Co. seating covered in Maharam mohair.
Viccarbe tables, Grand Rapids Chair Co. chairs, and Andreu World stools gather in the third floor café.
Viccarbe tables, Grand Rapids Chair Co. chairs, and Andreu World stools gather in the third floor café.

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