ELEGANT YET EDGY DESIGNS FOR A BOSTON INVESTMENT FIRM

Private equity firm Great Hill Partners looked to Gensler Boston to create a workplace that distinctly reflects their culture. Gensler designed a welcoming environment that pairs a dramatic palette with statement features and asked us create a series of six rugs in four complementary designs for the locations most visible to clients.

Creative Matters Senior Designer Sandra Ciganic-McKinney managed the project. She skillfully worked with images provided by Gensler to create a collection of gorgeous designs in a common palette of indigos and greys. The size of the rugs (37’ long for the boardroom) and the tight timeframe did not allow for handknotting so the rugs were handtufted in 100% wool in Thailand.

The Creative Matters rug design used for the boardroom and large conference room (above) has a feeling of leaves scattered on water and adds a lot of interest in a fairly clean, minimal space.

And the rug for the smaller conference room (above and below) is reminiscent of spots of light in a photo. It brings life to its environment. All four designs use 10 colours and a large number of colour blends, from 19 to 31 depending on the design.

“Using a large number of colour blends results in a greater feeling of depth and dimension, especially when a palette is by design more minimalist,” said Sandra.

“It’s always a pleasure when clients appreciate how just the right artistically rendered rug design and colours can add understated warmth, comfort and intrigue to a modern space - even a place of work,” said Sandra.

The painterly brush strokes of the design (above, right) for the collaboration area provide an interesting softness to its contemporary, industrial interior.

“Working with Gensler is always a delight but this project was particularly interesting because they wanted to meet some very tight timelines,” said Sandra. “We collaborated well on the designs so approvals were obtained quickly. Designer Kat Pezzano assisted with the production artwork and luckily the mill in Thailand also had the capability to turn around production in record time. We can’t always complete beautiful custom work like this in such a short period of time but on this occasion it was our pleasure to do so.”