Adobe illustrated

Sheila Kim -- Interior Design, 1/1/2003 12:00:00 AM

The continuing success of Adobe, dominant in desktop publishing since the early 1980s, has depended upon keeping pace with technology. In designing the software developer's New York training and conference center, Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel, Architects, sought to communicate the company's dynamic, revolutionary character first and foremost. "We developed a design attitude reflective of Adobe's reputation in the print-media landscape," principal Randy Gerner explains.

Many details translate this idea quite literally. Mounted on a nautilus-shape wall of wood and masonry wrapping the reception desk, a computer monitor displaying the company's logo welcomes visitors to the 8,000-square-foot space. Partitioning the training room and three conference rooms from the lobby, a curved steel wall displays a grid of glazing that mimics the familiar color palette from Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator programs. During the morning and afternoon, visitors are treated to pyrotechnics of color and light as the sun's rays enter the exterior conference rooms, then filter through the glazed wall and into the lobby, reflecting off the epoxy-finished concrete floor. Graphic elements in the glass panels vaguely recall other design-software icons, such as the pointer tool. According to Gerner, "The architecture of the space becomes a 3-D rendition of the Adobe software's architecture."

In Adobe's New York training and conference center by Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel, a curved steel wall with patterned glazing mimics the color palette of the company's graphics software. STEEL-WALL GLAZING: ACME ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTS. CHAIRS: ICF GROUP. CARPET: BENTLEY MILLS. CONCRETE FLOOR: STONCOR. LIGHTING CONSULTANT: LINDSLEY CONSULTANTS. MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: THOMAS POLISE CONSULTING ENGINEERS. GENERAL CONTRACTOR: BOVIS LEND LEASE.