Pink isn’t exactly Blake Tovin’s preferred colour, but something about this building caught his eye. The pink cinderblock warehouse was certainly eccentric, but he had a feeling it had been just the right spot for his company’s new studio. Tovin, the founder and creative director of Symbol Audio, needed an economical but spacious spot for his new lineup workshop, office and showroom.

Tovin worked with architect Sebastian Quinn to turn this Nyack, New York, warehouse to the open, industrial and bright studio he pictured. Together with Tovin since the general contractor, Quinn altered the 3,000-square-foot space into a modern studio for under $100 per square foot.

Symbol Audio

The studio includes 2 entrances. One, which contributes to the design studio, is less public and tucked behind a sheet of Cor-Ten metal. Another, which contributes to the Symbol Audio showroom, is available to the street and unites a pedestrian door and a glass garage door. During events, the garage door could be opened to let the audience flow.

Symbol Audio

The design inside is split symmetrically between the plan studio on the proper and also the showroom on the left. Sliding pocket doors between the distances let them be shut off from each other if needed. This photo of the studio indicates the Symbol Audio group’s workspace and tropical space.

Symbol Audio

Letting light to the area was a priority. Four 12- by 8-foot “light scoops” (visible from the street level) were cut to the roof. Windows, glass doors and several glass walls let the flow of light last without interruption.

Symbol Audio

This glass wall opens to one of the studio’s most offices, which shows some of Tovin’s designs. Tovin has designed furniture and other products for more than 25 decades, including pieces for Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware and EQ3. Symbol Audio is a brand new line of beautiful audio products he made with senior programmer Matt Richmond and marketing manager Joel Edmondson.

Symbol Audio

Tovin desired his brand new studio to have a tasteful industrial setting. A lot of the initial structural pieces were left exposed but were painted or completed.

The concrete floor was polished, the inside block walls were painted black grey and sheet rock was painted a crisp white. The steel beams were left with their original red primer.

Symbol Audio

A photo of the studio in the showroom provides a better glimpse of where the pocket doors divide the distance. The showroom usually highlights furniture, artwork and sculptures, like the piece inside this photo.

Symbol Audio

The rear third of the building is dedicated to the group’s woodshop, mechanics and storage. A glass garage door on the trunk opens, letting them work out in good weather.

Symbol Audio

BEFORE: A shot of the original building demonstrates just how far it’s come. Although it was a machine shop for several decades, it had been used as a warehouse and shop for furniture imported from Mexico when Tovin came across it. “The whole building was painted pink, and there was a steel sculpture of a gorilla on the roof,” states Tovin. “It had been hard to miss.”

Symbol Audio

DURING: The building’s bones were strong and well constructed, but there were no windows or pieces of architectural interest on the inside. Tovin cut to this cinderblock box to embrace the sky.

Symbol Audio

AFTER: Other than the basic bones, the brand new studio looks nothing like the original arrangement. Although Tovin wanted to keep the cinderblock walls, insulation was a problem. Quinn covered the outside of the cinderblock in rigid foam insulation to leave the inside walls as is, veneered the exterior in Cor-Ten steel. The steel was left untreated, developing a hot, rusted effect.

Photos of completed building: François Dischinger

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