Two small law practices that often referred work to each other decided to relocate together to a small (2,600 square foot) full floor on a high floor on Wall Street. As part of their lease the building owner contributed to the renovation cost of the space, however the resulting budget was not adequate for a complete makeover of the space.

The first two steps in our design approach were taken almost simultaneously, the first was the determination that most of the existing construction would remain; the second decision was that walls (and ceilings) would be removed to create a new vocabulary of voids within which the receptionist, secretaries, circulation, and conference area that the lawyers required could be located. In order to describe this part of our approach, the work of Gordon Matta-Clark was reviewed and ultimately embraced by the clients. The voids are located to maximize the spaces created while leaving in place existing doors and other elements. The milk-glass perimeter of the void allows natural light into the central workspace and entry areas.

Workstations, executive desks and consoles, the conference table and waiting area furniture were all custom-designed to appear as if they had been extracted,(along with a section of carpet,) from a typical, if not stereotypical, wood-paneled law office elsewhere. These elements are placed to maximize the use of the combined spaces created by the "voids" and the original open areas, and serve to unite these two opposed conditions.

The reuse, in their original location, of the elements such as doors, radiator covers, window treatment, light fixtures, and most of the electrical outlets and switching brought the project in at below $60 a square foot, including all construction, security gates, all finishes, furniture, accessories, artwork, and fees.The design presents the two firms in a way they wished to be seen: more individualistic and innovative then many of their larger counterparts.