-By Danine Alati, Photography by Vanni Archive, Ruggero Vanni.

When designing the New York office for Mazama Capital Management in the iconic Seagram Building, Tobin+Parnes took to heart building architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's infamous words: "God is in the details." Josh Sherman, project manager from the New York-based design firm, says, "Working out the details was the best part of the project. It's incredibly interesting and satisfying to select all the materials and see how they work together."

Tobin+Parnes painstakingly created every design element of this 5,000-sq.-ft. office to reflect Mazama's western mountain roots. "The Portland office had been updated recently," explains Amanda Meyer, project manager at Mazama, "and in New York we wanted an aesthetic of similar woods, finishes, and warm colors." Mazama CEO Ron Sauer adds, "Our new space needed to be a human environment, rather than a cold, dark, corporate space. The overall design mimics the natural beauty found in Oregon, while creating a space where employees and clients can relate and communicate."

Mazama very much favored a natural palette of wood, greens, and blues, and Tobin+Parnes took the design in a direction that is slightly different than Portland, but still feels like a familiar environment, says Carol Tobin, firm principal. "The client had strong ideas—they wanted rich materials and textures, like wool carpets, and were very much into bringing in wood, so we had that as a basis."

Sherman says that Mazama wanted to suggest a feeling of financial stability without being pretentious. "We didn't want it to look like typical Wall Street," Tobin adds. The designers accomplished this upscale yet inviting aesthetic with lush, warm furnishings and finishes. An accent wall in the reception area is seamlessly clad in highly textural 32-in. by 32-in. plaster panels, crafted by Modular Arts, while wood veneer covers the other reception walls. With no receptionist, acrylic panel screens are layered to delineate the reception area from the rest of the office, while maintaining a connection and blurring the lines between Mazama and its clients. "There's no hierarchy here," Tobin says. "There's no distinction between Mazama and the client. It feels like walking into a corporate living room."

This office maintains a cohesive, high-end aesthetic beyond the reception area—from workstations and the CEO's office to the kitchen and bathroom. Tobin+Parnes carries the wood veneer wallcovering from reception throughout the office. (Since it was the first time working with this delicate material, they closely collaborated with the craftsman who installed it.) Floor to ceiling windows allow natural light to penetrate all spaces. A large conference room off of reception enjoys a full window wall, while an interior conference space is conducive to video conferencing.

The most noteworthy aspect of the interiors (originally designed by Philip Johnson)—and the greatest challenge for Tobin+Parnes—is the light-box ceiling of this landmark building. Fluorescent lamps behind 4-ft. by 4-ft. acrylic panels set in a stainless-steel grid form the ceiling in 60 to 70 percent of the office, leaving that portion untouchable by the designers. The illuminated ceiling, along with the floor-to-ceiling windows, give all floors of the building an analogous aesthetic from the outside. "The ceiling not only lends a uniformity, but it also is very elegant and simple," Tobin says. The designers added supplementary incandescent and fluorescent lighting for the purpose of enhancing the materials, and to allow the space to "glow like a lantern, day or night," she notes.

The ceiling grid creates a great geometry to the space, while also somewhat dictating the layout of the office. The CEO's office is set in the southwest corner of the floor plate, perpendicular to the windows—where he can enjoy expansive Manhattan views from the 37th floor—and sliding glass partition doors can close off his office when necessary. Since the majority of Mazama's workforce is based in Portland, the designers built this New York outpost to accommodate business travelers when they are in the city, with several complete workstations and other worksurfaces at the wall opposite the CEO's office outfitted with phones and touchdown space for laptops.

Overall, Tobin+Parnes took care to respect the historic building, a process that was facilitated by the client's enthusiasm for design. "The Mazama team saw the real value of being in a world-class, landmark building, and they appreciate design and architecture and wanted us to use our creativity. We worked out different scenarios, and I enjoyed exploring all the options," Tobin says, adding, "All the success in a project is in how the details work together. I think we pulled it off here."

For a list of who, what, where, please see page 171.