Bloomberg L.P. Corporate Headquarters
Project Vision
The designers created an interior that seamlessly communicates Bloomberg’s product brand and services – date, news, and information – to employees, clients, and visitors.
Wayfinding in the building is coordinated by number. Different floors are marked with translucent color-coded resin numbers encased in glass, and a zip code-like scheme is used for identifying different areas of each floor. For the graphics, the designers developed a font called Bloomberg, merging the letters of Avenir with the numbers of Avant Garde. In the numbers, an Avant Garde “o” was used instead of a zero, to create the impression of Bloomberg-branded data.
In the glass bridge/winter garden, designers created oversized news zippers that scroll on three sides of the space, including a media wall broken into four parallel bands that capture data from the Bloomberg live feeds.
A Bloomberg Media Distribution System provides over 800 networked display screens, including the media wall and bands and monitors in ceiling coves, with a variety of feed options.
The main media wall was fragmented to reduce cost, and the ribbons better integrate visually with the architecture. LED was used for its brightness in the daylight-filled space.
Project Details
This system succeeds in integrating the function of the company with the display of quantitative information in an elegant, dynamic information system that becomes part of the fabric of the headquarters and the people in it. The technology is displayed seamlessly with the architecture, the typography is both legible and beautiful, and the emotional feeling that is conveyed even in the static photos is hypnotic. Juxtaposed with static and 3-D graphic elements for wayfinding and identification, the entire experience is coherent, original, and elegant. The information feels like it emerges from the building, revealing the depth of data – delivered as valuable information – of the client company. Wow, this is good! The wayfinding component appears flawless but I especially like the use of LED technology to express the nature of this business. The live feed of information in the fragmented banding of the LEDs is powerful. And the additional layer of color-coding information clearly distinguishes the type of information being displayed. Very dynamic and compelling.
Design Team
Paula Scher, Lisa Strausfeld (Principals in Charge), Jiae Kim; Andrew Freeman; Rion Byrd
Design Firm
Pentagram
Consultants
Show & Tell (display software)
Fabricators
King Products (signage fabrication), Structure Tone (signage contractor)