Something’s Brewing: Heineken’s Thoroughly Branded New York Office

For Heineken’s office in New York, TSC Design chief executive officer and founding principal Bill Sotomayor says, “We immediately immersed ourselves in the consumer draw and company culture.” That meant marrying high-functioning style with spot-on branding for the 38,000-square-foot space, a consolidation of two previous locations. Even the elevator lobby got the Heineken treatment, with the bases of those famous green glass bottles lining the walls. The beer’s other signature color, poppy red, shows up in reception’s Arne Jacobsen armchairs, a lounge’s carpet, and the office areas’ workstation partitions. A time line, illustrated by archival photos and vintage advertisements on light boxes, connects Dutch roots with this locale. Different countries where Heineken is sold provided the inspiration for graphics on the tabletops in six conference rooms with curved glass fronts. In the open space between them stands a bar that seats 25—and offers Heineken, Amstel Light, and Dos Equis, the company’s three most popular brews, on tap. Um, are they hiring?