34 East 51st Street is all clean lines, with an emphasis on unobtrusive edginess as evidenced in the overlapping “blades” facing onto 51st Street. No dark or lost corners or grimly lit cubicle farms here.
Daylight pours through wide glass into the building from north and south. Terraces invite gatherings. More than any other new building in the city, 34 East 51st Street suggests a new way for office space to express corporate identity.
Some define it as a “boutique” approach to office design, in the sense of the amenities and staff of 34 East 51st Street a level of comfort, modernity, and service that recall the luxury hotels in the neighborhood. But it is much more than boutique. 34 East 51st Street is a powerful statement of corporate mission, expressing confidence without ostentation, and competence in a manner that’s not overbearing or forbidding, but suggests a slightly more human approach to the business of business.
The building’s sides function like bookends. Its textured aluminum sides add a level of sophisticated playfulness.
As a material, glass on its own doesn’t say much, but when cleverly crafted to redirect sunlight, its presence shines.