case study | The New York Times Building, New ... - TechDecisions

“ The whole building structure is designed for maximum light. The numberone priority was to allow natural light to make our employees feel morecomfortable and to produce an energizing work environment.”—David Thurm, former Sr. Vice President, The New York Times CompanyTo accomplish these objectives, the TimesCompany hired the world-renowned architectRenzo Piano, along with two major architecturalfirms, FXFOWLE of New York, and Gensler,headquartered in San Francisco. The TimesCompany also employed the lighting designservices of SBLD Studio of New York.The result is a dazzling 52-story tower with 1.5million gross square feet. The building is a mixof office and retail. Its chief attributes are openspaces and floor-to-ceiling glass walls thatprovide building occupants wide views of theneighboring skyscrapers and, conversely,allow outsiders to look in.The importance of lighting controls wasrecognized by the Times Company from thestart. Executives extensively researched thestate-of-the-art lighting control options to satisfytheir twin desires for daylight harvesting andfor the flexibility to reconfigure spaces easilyand simply. The word “extensively” is not usedloosely. As Thurm himself described in an articlepublished in the Harvard Business Review,virtually every decision fell under tight scrutinyto drive innovation and to avoid what he called,“well-intentioned guesses by others as to whatyou want.”