Located in a historic building in Nomad, Manhattan, Color Collective is an up-and-coming film coloring studio led by Alex Bickel. Fresh off the success from critically acclaimed Hollywood movies such as “Moonlight” and “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, Alex contacted Pliskin Architecture to help conceive, plan, and design his first built-to-fit coloring studio in NYC. Film coloring is a very process oriented and peculiar form of work, where colorists are in dark spaces for long periods of time; therefore, the main project goal was to establish two types of spaces that allowed for maximum productivity but also a sense of calm and comfort.

The two primary zones consist of “production” spaces, which are spaces of technical production calibrated to create a precise setting to control a films color grading, and “comfort” spaces, which are meant to counteract the strict prescriptions of the other spaces and to offer an inviting and calm environment. The “production” spaces encapsulate all the studios and main theater. A perfectly neutral gray paint and specialized acoustic panels are utilized to create a non-biased color environment that allows the colorists to spend long periods of time without compromising their color perception. Highly prescribed and technical lighting is also integrated into the design to aid in color perception and work.

To contrast the technical production environment, the “comfort” spaces provide respite from the hours in dark environments. Wood radius dowels are used to soften and express the “production” space calmly into the “comfort” space. The pantry, clad in individually brushed aluminum panels, anchors the main social and functional space in an elegant and calm way, while also contributing to a soft and approachable material palette. An informal lounge serves as the main space for entertaining clients and guests in the “comfort” space.

PROJECT TEAM

Architecture – Pliskin Architecture / Nishant Jacob, Elisa Albuquerque, Marie-Charlotte Lemoine, Barak Pliskin
General Contractor – Yeung’s Contracting
MEP Engineering – E4P Consulting Engineering 
Expediter – Metropolis

Interior Photos: Julia Totoli
Perspective Drawing: Helen Sturman