AIGA National Design Center

It is only appropriate that this modern and sleek corporate office serves as the headquarters for the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the professional association for design. Marrying the modern and the historic attributes of design, the office is located on the 17th floor of the iconic Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway in downtown Manhattan. Distinguished as the tallest building in the world upon its completion in 1913, architect Cass Gilbert’s Woolworth Building serves as an example of the early US skyscraper.

As the hub for an organization that has 70 chapters and more than 25,000 members, AIGA’s aim was to create a space that would be multi-functional. Incorporating approximately 8,000 square feet, the office needed to serve as a workplace, resource, archive, and gallery space for design work.

To attain AIGA’s goals, Kohler Ronan provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and technology design services, as well as construction administration. Our technology scope included structured cabling to support LAN and Wireless LAN systems. Additionally, our team provided design and equipment layout for a small telecommunications room as well as electronic access control, video surveillance, and video intercom systems throughout the space. Finally, AV infrastructure design was incorporated to serve the main conference room. Our entire team paid careful consideration to provide modern engineering solutions within a historical architectural property.

Photo credit: © James Ewing, Courtesy Perkins Eastman