For the New York headquarters of Hypebeast, an online platform for fashion and culture, Modellus Novus partnered with environmental design studio FOOD New York to design a modern office space showcasing retail that easily flexed for special events, transforming the seven story building in Chinatown into a highly functional and collaborative space. The lower floors house space for activations and high-end retail and are anchored by a central courtyard. The natural light from the outdoor space is complemented by a grid of LED lights covered in a stretched fabric, providing a diffused glow perfect for retail. Commanding columns not only ground the space but also serve as dynamic retail displays, designed in Japan, that transform from benches into clothing racks in a single gesture.

The upper floors house the Hypebeast editorial team, podcast and photography studios, a golf simulator and a rooftop community space. Here, the design celebrated the rawness of the space rather than masking it, focusing on hero details such as a striking bar in the middle of the open office that subtly mask program elements such as meetings and a pantry. The space is simple, yet slick. Functional yet event-ready.

Photos by Naho Kubota