Spark Capital’s new Boston office is at the top of 200 Clarendon, a beautiful iconic glass building that was completed in 1976. With floor to ceiling windows, this space offers more light and better views than perhaps any building in Boston.

This is the third space that we have designed for Spark, and one thing has always remained the same: all the spaces have open ceilings. Spark’s first office was on Newbury Street, a limestone building built in 1929. The space had not been renovated in many years, so we gutted it and installed new systems that were in an orderly alignment with the new layout of the space. Simple planes of walnut served as a counterpoint to the exposed concrete floors ands ceilings.

The second space, at 51 Astor Place in New York City, was still under construction when we began the design, so we had the opportunity to modify the systems to create a visual order in the open ceilings. High ceilings, glass walls, rounded corners, and mid-century furniture created an elegant atmosphere.

This third space presented a different challenge. While all the systems were relatively new and perfectly serviceable, they had been hidden above a hung ceiling and modified many times during the forty-five-year life of the building. It was clear that in order to achieve the calm monochromatic interiors that took full advantage of the space and light, the systems would have to be reorganized.

Once we determined that all the HVAC equipment could be tucked over the interior offices, this meant that the corridor, which runs the entire length of the space, and the offices along the exterior glass wall could remain full height. With that established, we used white oak flooring and cabinetwork, white porcelain tile, minimalist lighting, concrete counters, felt walls, double glazed office fronts, white lever handles, Gio Ponti cabinet pulls, Penrose patterned wall tile, marble tables, and linen furniture to create this quiet and understated aerie.