Diane von Furstenberg Headquaters, New York

Event spaces and offices for a fashion design company accomodate 120 staff, with an executive suite and a private penthouse apartment. This adaptive renewal of an historic Manhattan building preserves the brick facades while digging a deep stairway in the middle to distribute natural light through the building. This shaft ascends diagonally until it reaches the “chandalier” at the roof, the remarkable glass penthouse. Heliostat mirrors track the sun’s movement, reflecting light onto other mirrors and down into the other floors. Tertiary mirrors reflect light onto the stair’s supporting cables and crystals that further reflect the light onto the floor.

The design clearly distinguishes old and new while implementing environmental control systems and careful details that fit in comfortably and permit plenty of flexibility.