SM&W Contribution
Shen Milsom & Wilke (SM&W) provided acoustical and audiovisual consulting for a confidential global financial services institution located in the Hudson Yards development. Our client, a diverse market leader, is consolidating multiple offices and relocating to this new headquarters. Our scope of work encompasses interior planning for trading operations, strategic collaboration, conferencing, indoor and outdoor amenities, and auditorium spaces.
Working directly with the client’s global technology and real-estate planning team, we utilized a baseline of their global AV standards. A key driver of the AV planning is incorporating and provisioning flexible AV infrastructure for day-one occupancy and day-two future connectivity platforms. Both AV technology and acoustical planning are coordinated with internal and client-facing programmatic benchmarks of interior comfort and platform performance. Detailed sound masking topography is designed to provide a seamless experience throughout open-plan offices while ensuring acoustical privacy for confidential discussions.
Acoustical design centered on acoustic testing of existing conditions and benchmarking to establish appropriate design criteria, heavily weighted towards client expectations. A proof of concept utilizing acoustical modeling was employed for a featured auditorium and the evaluation of speech privacy. The desire for a “kit-of-parts” modular approach to private offices and collaboration spaces led to mockups with leading manufacturers that were validated through acoustical testing. The executive and conference center were meticulously designed for sound isolation and acoustical comfort to support performance-level audio.
*Renderings courtesy of NBBJ