The Playground

Among Park Avenue’s glassy commercial buildings stands the Seagram Building, well known for its welcoming plaza and landmarked austere travertine lobby.

Lying just below the iconic plaza and flanking fountains now sits one of the most unique amenities offerings in New York’s commercial real estate market—The Playground. When faced with 30% vacancy, RFR turned to STUDIOS to imagine an amenities program, aimed at helping prospective tenants to look beyond less than ideal floor-to-floor heights by creating a building that could provide a more balanced offering. STUDIOS spearheaded the design of this bilevel experience that puts the Seagram Building back on the map.

The Playground is a 24,000-square-foot, fully subterranean, multi-functional amenities program that takes advantage of a maze of underutilized support spaces to create two levels of dedicated tenant amenities. The experience unfolds much like an athlete entering an arena through a tunnel, slowly revealing its many facets while pulling one deeper into the space. Accessed directly from the landmarked elevator cabs, the entry is color blocked in neutral tones to mirror the lobby and other common building elements—providing a moment of zen as you transition from working space to amenities. Moving further into the space, occupants are captivated by a blue graphic in the distance that has been splashed across every surface of the centrally-located double-height flex court, taking inspiration from the blue hues of the fountains just above. These graphic elements and playful yet refined design provide the Playground with an identity uniquely its own.

The program-rich space seeks to provide the collective settings for working and meeting as well as the fitness programming that can’t always be accommodated within a lease. The cellar level provides a lounge, boardroom, and multi-purpose space to host events of all scales. These spaces visually connect to the fitness zones, creating unexpected proximities like rock climbing next to a board meeting, while providing sound protection to maintain the functionality of the spaces. A sport-inspired graphic wall flanks a stair connecting to the fitness spaces below, including the hydration station, well appointed locker rooms, a spin room replete with adjustable lighting for every mood, table games, and a robust fitness center provide opportunities for participation and physical activity with personal preference in mind.

The Playground's centerpiece is the flex court; designed to host basketball, pickleball, volleyball, and soccer, but can also completely transform into a 150-person theater for town hall meeting sand large-screen presentations. With the push of a button, the court’s north wall opens, revealing eight tiers of polished wood seating for spectators or distinguished audience. The opposite end of the open court contains the climbing wall, beckoning adventurers with its multi-colored holds dispersed from floor to ceiling.

The Playground exemplifies the type of amenity space that appeals to today's workforce—providing human connection and collective activity employees were lacking after years of working from home. By blurring the distinction between amenities and workspace and creating very collaborative and highly hospitality-driven environments, The Playground encourages employees to return to in-person work, providing a highly-active, entertaining environment to interact in various settings—whether that is hosting a lecture in the flex court or playing a game of pickup basketball with colleagues.