Wells Fargo Securities

New York, NY

In 2006, Mancini completed the New York headquarters for Wells Fargo Securities (then Wachovia Securities). Occupying 225,000 rentable square feet, the build-out covered six floors of the Seagram Building, an icon of 20th-century architecture whose status as a landmark presented us with many unique challenges.

Wells Fargo Securities Building Parameters

Because of the building’s landmark status, any interior element visible from the outside had to meet the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission’s stringent standards. Among these were the retention or identical replacement of the distinctive luminous ceilings, which were removed to install the ductwork for the extensive stand-alone air-conditioning system. Mancini’s designers developed a plan to limit the extent of the replacement, at a very significant savings to our client, and to ensure that the ceiling would look uniform.

Significant restrictions on alterations to the lobby also challenged our designers’ ingenuity. For the 53rd Street entrance, Mancini designed one of two reception desks—the other located in the Park Avenue lobby—to match architect Philip Johnson’s original.

Johnson himself, shortly before his recent death, was asked by the building’s owner to review and approve Mancini’s drawings and proposed location for the desk, as well as proposed signage.

To meet the extraordinary requirements for 24/7 and emergency power and cooling, Mancini installed two new generators, one on the mechanical floor, the other on the roof, and three rooftop chillers.

Landmarks approval of those installations required that the designers create a detailed mock-up, to ensure that no equipment would be visible from the Park Avenue street level.