Paul Hastings: 2015 BoY Winner for Midsize Corporate Office
For this white-shoe law firm, founded in Los Angeles, Interior Design Hall of Fame member Lauren Rottet has completed 15 offices worldwide. “We’re even doing some of them twice,” she says with a laugh. At this satellite location, 33,250 square feet on the 45th floor, she capitalized on the views. Unobstructed stretches of windows, in public spaces and perimeter offices, look out over Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, and the Willis Tower.
Interior vistas hold their own, too. They start at the elevator lobby, where faceted wall sculptures in bleached walnut veneer face off, and a cluster of amber-tinted clear acrylic rectangles descends from an oval cove in the ceiling. Creating a sense of movement, that ceiling treatment recurs as one of the few vertical accents in the streamlined reception area.
The reception desk, a monolith of white solid-surfacing, sweeps across like a moderne ocean liner. More angular but nevertheless long and lean, sectionals by Rottet’s fellow Hall of Fame member Patricia Urquiola are covered in creamy-white leather. And the wool carpet’s pattern ripples like the river below.
Farther in, the lounge’s vibe skews a bit more easygoing in a mid-century mode. Lemon-yellow swiveling lounge chairs by Joseph D’Urso surround a white pedestal table by Eero Saarinen.
Project Team:
Richard Riveire; Harout Dedeyan; Charles Lee; Laurence Cartledge; Gabriel Huerta; Eric Wattanachote.
