Kayak.com / Beinfield Architecture

Curated by ArchDaily

Architects: Beinfield Architecture
Area: 18000 m²
Year: 2014
Photographs:Robert Benson
Manufacturers: Boise Cascade, Canam, FonataArte, FontanaArte, Motoart, Visa Lighting
Construction: A. Pappajohn Co.

Text description provided by the architects. Kayak.com’s interest in attracting and maintaining a young urban workforce brought them to an abandoned police station close to the Stamford transit hub. Within the shell of the historic structure we helped craft a headquarters facility with the goal of providing brand reinforcement, and enabling Kayak to have enhanced connectivity to New York City’s well educated millennial population.

The original structure was designed by James Gamble Rogers, who was an architect known for his elegant “Yale Gothic” style. Our architectural intervention takes advantage of the soaring interior space, and celebrates the raw nature of the salvaged building, while referencing air travel, which is at the core of Kayak’s business.

A client request to suspend a used jet fuselage in the hanger like building shell was challenged by the difficulties of getting the aircraft into the historic structure. Alternatively it was decided to build a new fuselage from within.

The existing space was adapted to maintain the sense of building as artifact. Exposed brick, metal and concrete trusses, as well as remnants of the buildings more ornate former life is preserved. Rooms constructed of metal and glass house offices and support space.

The fuselage suspended from reinforced trusses houses a digital virtual conference center that connects headquarters to the satellite offices around the world. A suspended catwalk bridge access further emphasizes the floating nature of the room/object.

Enclosed executive offices are housed on the first floor, while the upper levels are given over to the work stations, collaborative spaces and meeting areas.

To maintain an in-progress character, all mechanicals are exposed. Ductwork rises through the building from the basement becoming an architectural element in the composition. The oval shape of the spiral duct reinforces the aeronautics aesthetic.

Kayak.com / Beinfield Architecture - Beam, Handrail — © Robert Benson

The reception desk was fabricated from re-purposed plane parts. Its smooth surface along with polished concrete floors, shiny metal and glass contrast with the rough brick and concrete structure that still shows impressions from its original wooden formwork. Plywood is used as a cladding element, lending its organic warmth to the space.

Product Description. The cowling reception desk and fuselage-shaped conference room use aluminum sheet panels, polished and buffed with rivet attachments, for a raw modern look evoking the romantic material elements of aircraft travel