Tricks of the trade with Fogarty Finger
The perfect piece of art can not only physically transform a space, but can change your relationship with a space. The hospitality design team at Fogarty Finger, including designers Alexandra Cuber, Candace Rimes, and Taylor Fleming, talk to us about how they use art to make their clients feel at home and inspired by the stories of the emerging artists they work with. With art as an anchor, Fogarty Finger uses color to tell a story, sparking new avenues of exploration and possibility.
How did Fogarty Finger begin?
Fogarty Finger Architecture (FFA) was formed in 2003 by Chris Fogarty and Robert Finger, two SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) alum. Chris' focus has always been ground-up architecture, while Robert's strength is interior architectural design. Partnering and combining their different areas of expertise allowed them to provide a more holistic design package for clients. Since then, the firm has grown to over 100 people and has remained evenly split between architecture and interiors.
Who is part of the core team of designers?
FFA is divided into design studios that focus on different sectors including ground‐up architecture, commercial building repositioning, multifamily interiors, and hospitality. As members of FFA’s hospitality studio led by Alexandra Cuber, Associate Director Candace Rimes and Senior Designer Taylor Fleming, with her specialty in FF&E and art, curated the pieces shown in these projects. Together they have cultivated the focus on art at FFA, an effort the firm’s founding partners have been very supportive of as the inclusion of art has enhanced the quality of our projects.
We've always been inspired by Fogarty Finger's ability to bring warmth into commercial spaces. How do the core team of designers approach designing for offices?
The creation of our hospitality studio evolved from our 15 years of experience designing luxury condominiums, high‐end private residences, and amenity spaces for multifamily and commercial developers. We take a very hospitality‐focused approach to the design of our commercial spaces, infusing elements that one may find in a home or hotel. We place equal importance on interior architectural design and the finishing touches such as furniture selections, art, and accessories. Working closely with a good lighting designer is also crucial to achieving a warm, inviting space. Art is folded into our projects from the beginning. It’s a crucial part of the story and never an afterthought. We strive to create spaces that cultivate a positive culture and support local emerging artists.
Fogarty Finger has worked with a range of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to the Rockefeller Group. As designers, how do you incorporate personal elements into each of your projects?
Our approach begins with getting to know as much as we can about our clients and their goals – whether it be through discussions, more formal interviews, tours, surveys, visioning sessions, or a combination of all these approaches. Every client and space is different, and we always strive to design a bespoke environment. Our process relies heavily on research – learning as much as we can, not just about the client, but also about the neighborhood, the building, etc. We then weave those elements into the space through the color palette, materials, and furniture / accessory / art selections. This makes every project unique, tailored, and personal to the client.
What was the process behind designing the office for the Fortune 500 Company's HQ?
Spanning several disparate floors of a mid‐century high rise, the Fortune 500 Company’s previous office was a mix of varying stages of outdated renovations and expansions related to the company’s growth over the years. Our selective intervention dealt with unifying the main public reception to a larger, more inviting footprint and renovating the CEO executive suite to usher in new leadership. Careful attention was paid to rationalizing the renovated plan while providing a careful separation of public and private areas with a consistent design language. By using traditional and classic materials in warm, monochromatic tones—travertine tile flooring, honed Fior di Bosco marble, white oak millwork panels, oil‐rubbed bronze accents, and decorative wall plaster—we provided a neutral background for more vibrant moments of art and furnishings.
How did art influence Fogarty Finger's design for the office?
The warm, enveloping atmosphere of the architecture lends itself to opportunities for pops of colorful and evocative art. In the public areas, bold paintings give personality and vibrancy to the intimate reception areas while weaving together a color story between art and furniture. The private executive suite employs a more personality‐driven direction. The Fortune 500 company is an innovator in the aerospace industry, so an effort to pull inspiration relating to this sector was essential. Stunning and surreal aerial photographs and works on paper folded into airplane shapes gives a subtle nod.
When Fogarty Finger started the project at 218 W 18th Street, the space was an empty white box. Where does the design process start with a blank slate?
A large‐scale approach was key to completely fill the architectural frame. We begin by first focusing on the interior architectural elements of the space, and thinking holistically about the overarching design components, space planning, and circulation through the space. As an architecture and interiors firm, we bring an architectural approach to all of our interiors projects. Once we establish the overall architectural framework, design and elements, we then hone in on the details that add a more personal touch to the space – finishes, materials, art selections, and accessories. Our goal was for the lobby at 218 West 18th Street was to attract the attention of those who pass by, perhaps giving them a moment to stop and peer into the warm and inviting lobby.
How does the artwork and finish selection change when considering a space with ground floor access?
When designing a space with ground floor access we consider the neighborhood context, exterior of the building, and any spaces in the building that may need to connect to this space aesthetically. In terms of interior design concept, we didn’t want the lobby at 218 West 18th Street to feel like a corporate lobby. Our initial project in the building was the design of marketing suite on the third floor. We sought to bring down the warmth and hospitality / residential‐inspired design elements of the marketing suite into the lobby to create a cohesive design vision and connection between the two spaces. Whether visitors and tenants notice or not, subconsciously they will feel a shared quality between the spaces which allows for a seamless tenant and visitor experience.
Art is folded into our projects from the beginning. It's a crucial part of the story and never an afterthought.
Fogarty Finger
How did 1700 Broadway's location influence the design process?
We developed this running design mantra of “off‐the‐grid,” envisioning the space as somewhere you could escape from the structures of a work day without having to fully remove yourself from that environment. On a small scale it’s half a floor of respite in a forty‐two story office building, a place you can go each lunch, have an informal meeting, be inspired, or grab a drink after hours. On a larger scale, the building’s location fit really nicely within that “off‐the‐grid” narrative. Located in a heavily commercial/work‐centric area in the middle of Manhattan, the building itself sits on Broadway, a road that conveniently happens to break from the grid of city streets. That reality allowed the design, concept, and layout to become a microcosm of the building’s larger context.
What role did experimentation play in the design process?
Experimentation is always an integral part of our design process. At 1700 Broadway our iterative process helped ensure the final design brought forward the underlying ideas of “off‐the‐grid” as well as object/field relationships (with roots in the mid‐century), while still remaining playful and forward looking. Beyond the typical design process, we also created our own carpets and rugs, drapes, wall coverings, grid ceiling, as well as various pieces of furniture throughout the space, each a unique experiment, to make sure our core ideas were carried through on every level.
