When SONY considered selling their building at 550 Madison Avenue, STUDIOS provided programming, strategic real estate planning, and test-fit services to help identify a new location for their future headquarters. We worked closely with their leaders to garner an understanding of their future goals to quickly evaluate a variety of options, ultimately aiding leadership in making a timely decision and the successful sale of 550 Madison Avenue. SONY selected 568,000 square feet spanning the top 11 floors at 11 Madison Avenue, a 1920s, 30-story Art Deco skyscraper located on Madison Square Park originally designed by architects Harvey Wiley Corbett and D. Everett Waid. The building owner created a dedicated entry and lobby for SONY, now known as 25 Madison Avenue, also designed by STUDIOS.

Our team worked directly with both SONY’s corporate group and the leaders of individual labels throughout the design process. The unique bow-tie shaped building creates opportunities for shared spaces at the center of each floorplate and branded work areas for the individual labels at the wings. In shared spaces, such as elevator lobbies, we used the consistency of SONY’s corporate identity on one wall and the individual labels’ branding and graphics on the opposite wall.

SONY’s workspace accommodates more than 1,800 employees among both open floorplan and private offices, a shift from 800,000 square feet spanning 34 floors at 550 Madison Avenue to 568,000 square feet spanning 11 floors at 25 Madison Avenue. Each label customized their workspace, selecting from five different private office configurations for executives and two individual workstation setups among the open floorplan. Each option allows for a significant level of individual customization within a standard kit of parts. Groups also participated in choices from customizing the pantry on each floor to selecting a design for their “experience corridor.”

In addition to the building’s unique bow-tie shaped floors, various building setbacks in SONY’s stack offer several outdoor terraces for employees to use in addition to the 290-person roof terrace. Floor 28 includes three distinct dining options, including a 210-seat cafeteria for all employees, a 70-seat dining room known as “Cafe 35,” and a 65-seat “SONY Club” for executive dining. The offices also include a 36-seat Dolby Atmos Screening Room, a 110-person multipurpose room with pre-function space, and a 74-person multipurpose room with a performance venue.