The new focus of Long Island City’s swiftly morphing neighborhood, Hayden, is defined and characterized by a design that synchronizes between its embedded interior and exterior spaces. The ability to move freely through amenity spaces, like the gym and outdoor screening theater, creates the impression of Hayden being a town within a city. At the core of every design decision is the promotion of strong community energy. The strategy was to find a way to give each space its own identity, while remaining a part of the whole.

Structured translucent and perforated panels diffuse light and space into intimate areas, while maintaining a consistent overall design. The main entrance greets residents and guests with a natural colored wood and a pear colored lighting fixture, illuminating the path to the lobby’s natural-light filled rotunda. Hayden’s lighting scheme intends to gives recognition to Long Island City’s role in technology and manufacturing, with metal mesh obscuring exposed bulbs. The 7th floor yoga studio finds an exterior complement in a shaded and secluded pergola.  At the building's pinnacle, a lounge and exterior seating give the residents stunning panoramic views of Manhattan and surrounding boroughs with the bonus of an outdoor screening lawn and built in BBQ pits. A large gym rounds out the resident public spaces, including a full basketball court floating above the city on the 3rd floor.

 The project draws inspiration from the multitude of ways it can be experienced, all inclusive with a vast variety of programs, functions and scales. Overall, the relationship of space frames the project as a village within the industrial buzz of Long Island City. Hayden is the winner of the 2018 AIA BQDA Design Excellence Award, Interiors and the 2018 NYCxDesign Award for Interiors.