CURRENT ISSUE
| Cover Story |
| Columns |
| A Trusted Advisor |
| Design/Architecture | |
| By Furniture+Interiors | |
| Monday, 01 January 2007 | |
 Because clients today tend to be extremely careful with their resources, Mancini Duffy says it has developed a reputation for knowing exactly where to expend design dollars to the greatest effect, and for solutions whose excellence contrasts with very tight budgets. Throughout a project, Schirripa continues, he and his colleagues spend a great deal of time discussing the client’s business strategies and its expectations and goals for the workplace. “Every service we provide and every capability we have is focused on creating an environment that supports the client’s business practices, enhances productivity and employee comfort, and expresses the company’s culture and identity.” That approach has served Mancini Duffy well. The New York City-based firm celebrated its 85th year in practice in 2006. It operates offices in Washington, D.C., Connecticut and New Jersey, and says it has an enviable roster of clients such as: • Accenture • Alliance Bernstein • Apollo Real Estate Advisors • Bliss Spas • Bloomingdale’s • Boy Scouts of America • CIT • Condé Nast Publications • Equinox Fitness Clubs • Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP • Latham & Watkins LLP • Hachette Book Group USA • Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP • JPMorgan Chase • McCarter & English LLP • KPMG • Radio City Music Hall • Saks Fifth Avenue • Shearman & Sterling LLP • Starwood Hotels • Time Warner • U.S. Trust • Wachovia Securities Inc. Its long-standing clients realize that “we are always there for them, no matter what they need, whether it’s a small renovation or a very large, complex project,” Schirripa says. However, larger projects occupy the majority of the firm’s portfolio, and include new headquarters for Fortune 500 companies in fields ranging from finance to retail, and global professional service firms in law, accounting and consulting, Schirripa notes. Creativity on a Budget Because clients today tend to be extremely careful with their resources, the firm says it has developed a reputation for knowing exactly where to expend design dollars to the greatest effect, and for solutions whose excellence contrasts with very tight budgets. The headquarters for global giant Grey Advertising, for instance, which won an Award of Honor from the Society of American Registered Architects, combines perennial design standards with e-commerce sensibilities and clearly distinguishes the executive floor and those dedicated to specific divisions and functions from one another. By making imaginative use of paint and carpeting, minimizing drywall and eliminating architectural paneling, Mancini Duffy says it completed the project at an exceptionally low per-square-foot cost. Time is often tightly budgeted, too, more so than ever before, Schirripa explains, due to tight lease terms and short commencement dates. That puts a premium on the design team’s flexibility and responsiveness. “We already know, based on experience, what tasks and decisions can be taken out of sequence, in order to add days to the timeline where the client really needs them,” he says. Even before the new location has been chosen, for example, the project team begins working on certain elements of the design, selecting systems and components that are not building-specific. “That way,” Schirripa says, “the client has more time to make key real estate decisions and negotiate leases. We can then tailor those elements to the location they select.” Even so, many clients are unfamiliar with the complexity of architectural processes and are dismayed to discover how time-consuming these can be. “We are constantly coming up with innovations that reduce the time we need for various phases of the project,” Schirripa says. “But cutting time doesn’t mean cutting out essential steps, giving less than full attention to every detail, or compromising quality. That’s completely unacceptable.” Communication is everything, and Mancini Duffy spends an uncommon amount of time with the client, consultants and contractors to make sure that everyone stays focused on the overall project goals and clearly understands the implications of each decision. The firm’s state-of-the-art technology plays a central role in ensuring that clarity. “For example, we use cutting-edge digital imaging – everything from wire-frame sketches to complex, full-color compositions – to help our clients preview the experience of the design,” Schirripa states. “You can show the client carpet samples and color swatches, but our techniques fully convey the relationships between solids and voids, patterns of circulation, the role of natural and artificial light, the effects of color and texture and all factors in the influence of the workplace on those who will use it,” Schirripa states. “Photographic illustrations of modifications to existing space or comparisons of two or more workstations also give clients the means to make well-informed, confident decisions.” Branding the Workplace The business community has come to recognize that design plays a critical role in branding a company – that space can embody and express culture and identity in a pervasive and meaningful way, Schirripa says. In some instances, brand identity is a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts – a complete ambience that reinforces the relationship of the company with its clients. In others, conveying identity is a complex matter of distinguishing each division of a business within the overall corporate brand, he adds. That was the case with the 760,000-square-foot space the firm designed for Condé Nast, giving each of the publisher’s 28 magazines offices that suited its particular work style and reflected its individuality. The challenges – and rewards – were heightened, Schirripa says, by the commitment of the building’s developer, the Durst Organization, to using environmentally responsible building materials and systems. “The greater the requirements and expectations, the more creativity it demands of us, and that’s what we come to work for,” he asserts. On occasion, the firm’s clients lack a clear and distinct identity, and Mancini Duffy’s graphics and signage experts join forces with the design team to develop a complete brand, from logo to interiors. When Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York hired Mancini Duffy to design its new headquarters, it became evident in the course of extensive meetings and conversations with TRS that the move to a new space provided a perfect opportunity for a complete rebranding. “The result was a visually compelling identity – logo, signage, even letterhead and informational materials – and spaces that make TRS’s clients feel welcomed and well served,” Schirripa states. Signage and graphics are not an add-on, Schirripa explains, but are “integral to any interiors project and essential to its functional and aesthetic success.” Properly construed and thoughtfully conceived, he adds, they contribute significantly to creating an appropriate ambience, enabling safety and orientation, and ensuring consistent image and character. The firm goes so far as to collaborate with its clients’ marketing and communications departments, creating print and electronic materials that reflect and support a company’s character. Knowing the Client’s Business Mancini Duffy’s success with such highly specialized projects as those for retail and food service is founded on its firm grasp of its clients’ businesses and day-to-day operations. Even within a particular business sector, “one size definitely does not fit all,” Schirripa emphasizes, “not even for one client.” The firm’s award-winning Retail Group has had on ongoing relationship with Bloomingdale’s, most recently undertaking multiple projects at the flagship store in New York City. Each department had its own requirements with respect to ambiance and function, Schirripa says. In the designer shoe salon and the Bridge, each label is clearly distinguished, and many of the displays create the impression of a shop front. The overall palette of crème, ivory and silver is cool and sophisticated. In contrast, the intimate apparel department is decorative, glamorous and feminine. Even as Mancini Duffy’s work at the flagship store continues, it has been retained to interpret and apply its design principles to multiple Bloomingdale’s locations across the country, Schirripa notes. For foodservice, Schirripa explains, it is vital to know that location is a matter of demographics. So when a client, Rosa Mexicano, decided to open a new restaurant in Palm Beach, Fla., the Mancini Duffy design team began its work with an analysis of this suburban location, which is completely different from the chain’s urban sites. The results incorporate the distinctive branding elements of other venues within an overall sensibility that reflects the outdoor mall location, Schirripa says. While Rosa Mexicano primarily serves shoppers and mall visitors, Mancini Duffy’s indoor food court was designed expressly to attract and serve employees of the building’s tenants, he explains. “The five separate food locations are unified by the clean, simple design, given warmth by a Tuscan palette of olive greens, chocolate browns and earthy oranges,” he adds. “Each food station is designed to facilitate a different experience, from the open-air market style of the grab-and-go area to the communal tables that foster interaction.” Going Above and Beyond For Mancini Duffy, the mission of advancing a client’s business objectives both precedes and extends beyond the planning, design and construction of a facility. The firm has developed extensive capabilities that help clients with comprehensive decision-making and ongoing management of workplace assets. The Center for Workplace Innovation (CWI) is the locus of those skills, staffed by specialists who use state-of-the-art tools and methods. Its workplace strategy uses a unique process for assessing a client’s business goals, staff and culture, develops criteria, performance requirements and guidelines that link business practices and resources to space needs, Schirripa explains. Through a four-step approach, CWI identifies the alignment of personnel with the business culture; rates the company’s business health; and quantifies the effects of organizational change. The resulting action report and design brief enables clients to establish goals, redirect strategic plans, attract and retain top staff, and reposition the workplace as a valuable corporate asset. CWI’s Facilities Services, in turn, give Mancini Duffy clients the tools for managing their workplace assets – space, leases, people, equipment and furnishings – and the near-constant changes that are a feature of contemporary business, Schirripa says. Using continually updated electronic software, on platforms that link and coordinate information from all sources, CWI tailors its programs to each client’s particular needs and provides installation, training, upgrading and ongoing trouble-shooting. “Some clients come to us specifically for these services,” Schirripa says, “because we understand that they can only realize the full value of the workplace through comprehensive management that produces greater efficiencies, reduces costs and enables sound decision-making.” Innovating for a Changing World “We introduced product-design services only five years ago,” Schirripa says. “But, we have been producing custom furniture designs for our clients for some time.” That work has attracted the attention of manufacturers, he adds. “A number of manufacturers have asked us to consult with them,” Schirripa explains. “We know the clients and the end-users, and we make a point of staying ahead of the curve when it comes to new technological developments and workplace trends.” Now, manufacturers are turning to Mancini Duffy to design special lines. “That’s given us a great opportunity to make another contribution to advancing the quality and standards of interior design,” Schirripa declares. The firm created the Geneva Series for Tuohy. This is a line of conference tables that offer a complementary line of case goods with a sleek, minimalist look and no visible hardware. Mancini Duffy’s furniture designs address function as much as aesthetics, Schirripa adds. Accordia, an elegant contemporary casegoods design for Halcon, sets a new standard for flexibility. The product expands and contracts two inches from the ordered dimension, enabling a final on-site adjustment that makes for a perfect wall-to-wall fit and gives the appearance of a custom built-in. The drive for continuing innovation and a deep-rooted commitment to responsible practices provide the foundation of Mancini Duffy’s emphasis on sustainable design. The firm now has 26 LEED-accredited professionals who have designed LEED-certified projects from 70,000 to more than 700,000 square feet for clients across the country. “We recognized early on that sustainability was rapidly moving from a ‘feel-good’ element to a business essential,” Schirripa explains. “The outcomes are provable: lower operating costs, enhanced building marketability, and increased worker comfort and productivity. For us, designing to LEED standards is a matter of good global citizenship and of good business practice.” In support of those principles, Mancini Duffy offers its staff extensive training in preparation for the LEED exams and exposure to cutting-edge developments, by inviting vendors to present and discuss their latest LEED products. It even created a quiz show, The Sustainability Feud, for staff that had participated in the training, to generate enthusiasm and confidence, he notes. That kind of support, and the collegiality that goes with it, is characteristic of Mancini Duffy’s culture. Notwithstanding the firm’s rapid growth in recent years, “we are a tight-knit group, really like a family,” Schirripa says. “And the leadership is always looking for new ways to foster that sense of belonging and to accommodate individuals and their needs.” The firm has grown not only in size, but also in reach, he adds. In addition to its Washington, D.C., office, Mancini Duffy is a partner in International Partners in Design (IPiD) – an alliance that enables it to serve an expanding multinational client base across the United States and Europe, Schirripa says. The staff reflects the firm’s reach, coming from all over the country and the world. “We believe our diversity is one of our greatest assets,” Schirripa says. “The enormous variety of backgrounds and experiences enriches our practice, our design and our lives.” Mancini Duffy recruits actively and successfully, attracting top talent at all levels with the opportunity to create exceptional design. “We are always looking for people with skill, energy and a passion for their work,” Schirripa notes, “and especially for those who share our values.” He goes on to explain that, for all its wide-ranging work and large, corporate projects, Mancini Duffy is deeply rooted in and committed to the community. While many design practices support industry and professional organizations, Mancini Duffy is also involved with many charities; in the last year alone, Schirripa says, the firm contributed 10 percent of its profits to charity. |
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