Being at the 2014 Brit Awards this week provided PENSON with a large portion of nostalgia, transporting us back to this time last year when we’d just completed our reinvention of the Three Six Zero Group/Roc Nation HQ for our pal Jay Z.
Jay called us six weeks before last year’s Brit Awards to ask if we would rejuvenate his offices in time for the big day, and we jumped at the opportunity to work on a project with a client whose needs and preferences we already knew like the back of our hand.
We called on the expertise of a couple friends – Chris Bracey of God’s Own Junkyard who provided us with some of his hugely in demand one of a kind neon signage, Mr Marshall himself of Marshall Amps who created a bespoke amp desk especially for the reception, and not forgetting the guy we sent in with just a pot of glossy black paint, a pot of glossy white paint and a paintbrush to get things started.
If personal experience is anything to go by we know that Jay and the guys are big kids at heart, so installing a Street Fighter arcade game in the reception seemed like a no-brainer, and lining the walls with headphone-wearing mannequins was the perfect way to subtly express a little of the team’s unique style, even if they are considerably less voluptuous than the type of woman Jay’s used to.
Speaking of the team, we wanted them to feel in touch with the label’s clients at all times, and we achieved that by lining the bathroom walls with the golden discs of Roc Nations many artists, making it probably the most valuable lav in the world – apart from the one Beyoncé used at Glastonbury.
The doors were open in time for last year’s Brits, and were still open and looking as fresh as ever for this year’s, proof that it doesn’t take a team of 200 or a budget of 200,000 to produce high quality design quickly for demanding giants like Jay. The team is still happy in their new home, and what better way is there to celebrate your HQ’s first birthday than blasting your multi-Brit award winning client’s music from the £22k sound system?
The London HQ may be done and dusted but our work with the Three Six Zero Group and Roc Nation is just beginning, and our next stop is Jay’s office in LA – maybe this time around we’ll even add a separate mini sound system for Blue Ivy.
*To see more images of the Three Six Zero Group/Roc Nation HQ visit our Facebook*
