“A precondition of your long-term success is that you endeavor to think not only of yourselves, but also of your fellow human beings. Those who adhere to this condition will certainly be blessed with success.”

— Daniel Swarovski

SWAROVSKI CORPORATE OFFICE

Site: Swiss Air North American Headquarters, Melville, NY

Architect: Richard Meier

This hub of the Swarovski Offices is focused on showcasing the latest designs and innovations and to invite customers and collaborators to a place where they can engage with workers and the product. The form of the intervention mimics natural crystal growth as small fragments create private spaces and expand and grow into large planes to form open, public spaces.

Properties of crystals govern an experience through the process of glassmaking.

The design follows the replication of Swarovski’s process of using glass to mimic the properties of crystals. The intervention in the corporate hub grows in small fragments, growing larger as it moves up, into flat planes. The intervention “crystal” respects the grid of the building. Placed inside of the building matrix, points on the crystal hit intersections in the matrix. The rounded piping on the intervention form respects the form of the columns throughout the building.

The program of the intervention walks participants through the process of glass making:

Ground Level - Spa

Represents liquid glass and heat. Intimate space for workers to relax

Level 1 - Collaboration Space

Represents the cooling down of glass and transformation. Workers move into a space of interaction and communication.

Level 2 - Meditation Space

Represents the strengthening of glass. Workers can refresh their minds and gain strength for the rest of the day.

The corporate space is an extension of the intervention as it shows the progression of an uncut crystal to a finished, refined gem.

Materials represent the luxurious, sophisticated brand of Swarovski. Glass in the space is consistently nested in another material - similar to a gem being held within a metal frame.

The overall appearance and function of the intervention itself forms into a finished crystal/ gem contained in materiality and physicality by the building.