For clean beauty brand Milk Makeup, Modellus Novus partnered with environmental design studio FOOD New York to create a modern space in Soho that would not only bring their transparent brand principles to life but also serve as a base for engaging their customers. Creating for the first time a distinct space for the makeup brand within the larger organization’s footprint, MN imagined an open, airy space that easily flexed from an office and meeting space for the full staff to housing events and photoshoots.

An expansive courtyard centered the space, with the lobby resembling an outdoor plaza that the staff refer to as “Milk Plaza.” Here, terrazzo tiles used through the plaza flooring are also repurposed as benches at the plaza’s perimeter. Light within the space is designed as the perfect conditions for makeup application, achieved through a strategic installation of translucent acrylic panels laid into a typical ceiling grid to create a diffused light.

Photos by Naho Kubota