Those were the days

Reality TV may have rocketed to the top of the Nielsen ratings lately. When it comes to staying power, though, all bets are on the nostalgia shows. One of the biggest names in the biz is TV Land, an MTV Networks division that promotes and broadcasts classic American sitcoms. In addition to airing I Love Lucy, Happy Days, and Gilligan's Island, the network has preserved TV's glory days by hiring HLW International to design a New York headquarters that's a living testament to the history of the medium.

Having previously designed offices for MTV Networks, HLW partner and design director John C. Mack was quite familiar with the client's wants and wonts. "Our learning curve was greatly diminished with respect to building and planning," he says. Since efficiency, adjacency, mobility, and other mundane issues had already been hammered out, he explains, the firm was able to "tap into TV Land's heart and soul," capturing the humor and drama of TV's golden age.

The resultant 30,000-square-foot interior greets visitors with a ready-for-prime-time statement. Sweeping across the elevator lobby is a 75-foot-long zebrawood-veneered MDF canopy secured to the core wall by aircraft cables. Directly overhead, cutouts in the canopy frame recessed fixtures that cast monitor-shape pools of light on the vinyl floor.

This funky entry sequence leads to a glass-enshrined vignette from the original Honeymooners set. It's a dingy 1950s kitchen, complete with checkerboard linoleum, gas stove, and icebox. On the back wall is a smiling cartooned image of character Ralph Kramden.

Public areas likewise channel the past, with an assortment of mid-century furnishings and retro-inspired treatments. Witness the lobby, with overscale white vinyl-upholstered club chairs by Roberto Romanello and circle-motif carpet in the fiery crimson of TV Land's logo. "The red creates an anchor," explains senior associate Kimberly Sacramone.

The accent color repeats everywhere from copy-room enclosures to the staff café. Even the 12-by-24-foot boardroom gets in on the action, courtesy of a red-painted ceiling inset with oversize convex overheads, 4 feet in diameter. Underfoot stretches a swath of black rolled-vinyl flooring. The doors, conference table, and credenza are veneered in the same striated zebrawood as the entrance canopy. The wall between the boardroom and hallway is mostly clear glass, but a measure of visual privacy is provided by a large central lozenge in translucent etched glass.

Days of yore come to life in the four corner meeting zones, all comprising a conference room and a lounge outfitted like a living room. Each zone highlights a different decade, from the 1940s to the 1970s. The 1940s conference room, for instance, features period-specific velvet-covered chairs and a suspended translucent-glass shallow-dish light fixture illuminating the circular mahogany-topped table. The 1950s zone is pure rec room, with a geometric-patterned carpet, Isamu Noguchi seating and tables, and a groovy aluminum vintage lamp. A '50s-inspired brushed-aluminum chandelier by contemporary designer David Weeks hangs above a conference table graced by a vintage antenna. In the 1960s zone, George Nelson's Bubble lamps and Marshmallow sofa, Pierre Paulin's curvy 437 chairs, a Pedestal table by Eero Saarinen, and contemporary op-art wallpaper by Laurinda Spear transport staff and guests to the era of The Dick Van Dyke Show. In the fourth and final zone, kooky geometrics and dark mahogany furniture switch the channel to 1970s swank.

Breaking from the period theme are offices and work areas, sited along window walls. Custom workstations have maple partitions, overhead storage fronted in reinforced-acrylic panels, and ample shelf and drawer space offering maximum flexibility. Balancing modern convenience with timelessness, the system ensures that TV Land's office will age as well as any Leave It To Beaver episode.

Previous spread, left: At TV Land in New York, HLW International wrapped the elevator lobby in a zebrawood-veneered MDF canopy and secured it to the core wall by aircraft cables; elevator indicators are solid acrylic rods. Flooring is vinyl. Previous spread, right: Bubble lamps by George Nelson punctuate the midtown Manhattan view from the 1960s-themed conference room.

Above: Just off the elevator lobby, the original Honeymooners set preserves the 1950s behind glass. Right: In the reception area, a desk surfaced in plastic laminate stands out against the custom logo wallpaper. Seating is vinyl-upholstered.

Opposite: The boardroom features a zebrawood-veneered table and doors, Alberto Meda chairs, and rolled-vinyl flooring. A lozenge of etched glass floats in the center of the clear glass wall.

Above: HLW grouped 56 custom workstations along window walls. Partitions are maple; reinforced-acrylic panels front the overhead storage. Below: In the lounge of the 1950s zone, TVs recessed behind a zebrawood panel cycle through sitcoms. The coffee table and sofa are by Isamu Noguchi.

Above: In the 1950s conference room, Aluminum Group seating by Charles and Ray Eames surrounds a table graced by a vintage antenna. The brushed-aluminum chandelier by David Weeks is '50s in inspiration. Right: HLW furnished the '60s lounge with Pierre Paulin's 437 chairs, George Nelson's Marshmallow sofa, Eero Saarinen's Pedestal table, and wallpaper by Laurinda Spear. The carpet continues through to the '60s conference room.

Partner in charge: Susan Boyle. Project architect: Richard Brennan. Senior resource designer: Gerard Robertson. Project manager: Jennifer Brayer. Lighting designer: Frank Cotugno. Associate designers: Phillipe Brais; Jason Levitt. Pendant fixtures (1960s conference room): Through Design Within Reach. Club chairs (reception): Loewenstein. Carpet: Bentley Mills. Task chairs (boardroom): Vitra. Recessed fixtures: Legion Lighting Co. Flooring: Architectural Systems. Pendant fixtures (work area): Kichler Lighting. Task chairs: Haworth. Storage panels: American Acrylic Corporation. File cabinets: Levine Calvano Furniture Group. Cove lights: Linear Lighting Corporation. Carpet: Lees carpets. Coffee table, love seat (1950s lounge), sofa (1960s lounge): Herman Miller. Chandelier (1950s conference room): Ralph Pucci International. Drapery fabric: Maharam. Wallpaper (1960s lounge): Wolf-Gordon. Chairs: Artifort. Coffee table, drapery fabric (1960s lounge): Knoll. Custom drapery (1960s conference room): D.F.B. Sales. Task chairs: Troy contract. Carpet tiles (conference rooms): Milliken. millwork: TatCo Installations. Mep: AMA Consulting Engineers. General contractor: Lehr Construction Corp.