April 11, 2019

Text: Jesse Dorris

Vocon Opts for Locally-Inspired Design at Its Cleveland Headquarters

Vocon has offices in Los Angeles and New York and has designed interiors from coast to coast and pole to pole, but as firm designer Katerina Fantozzi says, “Cleveland is home.” So, when it came time to redesign its hometown headquarters to better meet the needs of the firm’s growing staff, the idea was to keep it local.

The 15,000-square-foot space is chock full of the work of local vendors, including custom furniture by Hans Noble Design and Cleveland Art. Vocon’s own executives even got in on the project, creating a café wall modeled after the refrigerator door photo gallery of founder and owner Debbie Donley and another wall filled by a leader’s Pez dispensers. Social spaces are ample, including a work café with family-style tables and booths, which designers utilized as desks during renovations.

Read more: Project Interiors’ Chicago Studio Fosters a Healthy Balance Between Work and Play

Cleveland Art’s custom light fixture in blackened steel hangs in the entrance lobby, which also includes blackened steel and clear acrylic displays of Vocon memorabilia. Photography courtesy of Matthew Carbone.

“The biggest challenge was working through the construction phase and having in-house designers and architects critique your work,” Fantozzi says, “but as a young designer, I learned tremendously through my peers.” And while a virtual reality lab means those critiques can parry back and forth anywhere in the world, the real business takes place in the bright red conference room that nods to the red neon sign on a branded wall that reads: Love Your Work.

Read more: AD Architecture Wins 2018 Best of Year Award for Firm’s Own Office 

Keep scrolling to see more images of the project >

Amanda Bennett of Plume Interiors + Light collaborated on the Red Room’s custom lighting, made from LED tiles behind a frosted acrylic diffuser, which illuminates a Neinkamper table and chairs by Stylex. Photography courtesy of Matthew Carbone.

Mohawk’s Groundcover carpet tile covers the lobby, through which is a kitchen to the left and a collaborative zone on the right. Photography courtesy of Matthew Carbone.

The team replaced the staircase’s bamboo treads and painted the balustrade and railings a dramatic black. Photography courtesy of Matthew Carbone.

A custom oak concierge desk greets visitors, in front of a sheer by Wolf-Gordon. Photography courtesy of Matthew Carbone.

The Virtual Reality Room offers Bluescape displays, with Boss Design sofas and Hightower poufs. Photography courtesy of Matthew Carbone.

The café offers chairs by Naughtone and the custom niches in oak with cantilevered oak tables are by Hans Noble Design. Photography courtesy of Matthew Carbone.

Custom storage holds the library’s collection of product samples and literature; the carpet tiles are by Bentley Mills. Photography courtesy of Matthew Carbone.

Vocon’s in-house Experiential Brand Design team helped create this custom graphic in black felt on a wall painted a bold red. Photography courtesy of Matthew Carbone.

Read more: Rottet Studio Reinvents Viacom Office in Los Angeles 

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