For many people, a love for football began playing in the neighbourhood as a child, often accompanied by the enthusiastic shout of 'Goal!'. This feeling of community and local connection is now an integral part of Major League Soccer (MLS)'s newly opened headquarters in Vornado Realty Trust's '2 Penn Plaza'. The new headquarters combines this sense of community with a vibrant and dynamic stadium experience that is unique to Midtown Manhattan.
To merge these two seemingly opposing dynamics across 126,000 square feet over two floors, TPG Architecture drew inspiration from the sport itself. Chelsea Rowe, Creative Director at TPG Architecture, explained that everything was woven into the essence of conveying the quality of the sport in architectural language. She emphasised that in football there are highlights and arcs of tension, bursts of activity, moments of genius and greatness, but also phases of a steady rhythm in between.
Upon exiting the lift on the 15th floor of 2 Penn, one already feels as if entering a major event. The lift corridor to the MLS reception area gives the impression of a player tunnel in a stadium and is marked by bright red MLS logos overhead upon entry. Notably, the MLS logo at the lift bank can be adapted to the corporate colours of the respective cooperation partner for larger marketing meetings, for example, Caterpillar yellow or Walmart blue.
The tunnel opens into an open reception area, bathed in natural light and richly equipped with technology. This includes screens showing matches, digital display boards, and a ticker that circles the staircase leading to the expansive communal area, named 'Midfield'. The reception area also displays a wall of player jerseys and the MLS Cup, the trophy awarded to the championship team at the end of each season. Rowe described this as a soft, sweeping curve leading to an accent point. In the case of the reception, this is anchored by the jersey wall, which represents and presents each of the clubs.
The atmosphere in the actual work areas is distinctly different. The colour tones are muted, and the areas exude a certain tranquillity. Each workspace is divided into so-called 'neighbourhoods', offering specific teams their own areas for efficient working. The MLS headquarters features 80 meeting and collaboration rooms, as well as a central control room from which league executives can follow all matches live simultaneously. Artwork from fans adorns the work areas, and the concept of employee well-being and community forms the core of the entire space. Suzette Subance Ferrier, Managing Executive and Studio Creative Director at TPG, emphasised that planning these smaller workplace neighbourhoods promotes this well-being, as a smaller group offers more opportunities for networking and exchange and feels less overwhelming.
