A former automotive factory, West End Labs (WEL) was the brainchild of Taconic Partners and their vision to develop a life science hub on the west side of Manhattan, with WEL at the district's center. At 400,000sf, WEL is one of the city's most significant Life Science developments.
For 18 months, we partnered with Taconic to build an identity for WEL and align the entire property, highlighting its potential as the center of the new West Side cluster. The resulting campaign saw results quickly, signing their first lease within three months of the official launch.
Strategically, we understood that the scale of the development and speed to market would drive interest from a range of life science users. Our ability to make a dent in the lack of turnkey lab space while offering the flexibility to handle large, well-established companies would give us a leg up.
Through our conversations with Taconic, we developed a position that harnessed these strengths—a high-performance research facility and a finely appointed interior to support a mission-driven community.
We embrace the building’s history, with subtle nods to the automotive industry throughout the collateral, while pushing the identity forward with a look that did not neatly fit into the life science mold.
Strategically, we understood that the scale of the development and speed to market would drive interest from a range of life science users. Our ability to make a dent in the lack of turnkey lab space while offering the flexibility to handle large, well-established companies would give us a leg up.
A former automotive factory, West End Labs (WEL) was the brainchild of Taconic Partners and their vision to develop a life science hub on the west side of Manhattan, with WEL at the district's center. At 400,000sf, WEL is one of the city's most significant Life Science developments.
For 18 months, we partnered with Taconic to build an identity for WEL and align the entire property, highlighting its potential as the center of the new West Side cluster. The resulting campaign saw results quickly, signing their first lease within three months of the official launch.
Redevelopment of an existing property comes with challenges that a new build often avoids. These challenges compound when it comes to life science: building systems, infrastructure, and slab heights all become constraints when working with existing buildings. Taconic believed that this specific property had all the right features that, when stripped back to the base structure, could be rebuilt to the current day standard and then some.
Strategically, we understood that the scale of the development and speed to market would drive interest from a range of life science users. Our ability to make a dent in the lack of turnkey lab space while offering the flexibility to handle large, well-established companies would give us a leg up.
Through our conversations with Taconic, we developed a position that harnessed these strengths—a high-performance research facility and a finely appointed interior to support a mission-driven community.
We embrace the building’s history, with subtle nods to the automotive industry throughout the collateral, while pushing the identity forward with a look that did not neatly fit into the life science mold.
Through the development of the abbreviated version of the logo, we were able to craft a naming convention that lived throughout the identity and the building itself—we introduced a bit of fun through the use of WEL within the messaging and the event space and roof terrace also took on the WEL moniker.
While little of the original building remains, the old car ramp remained as a break-out space that corkscrewed up the building. Renamed The Helix, this became an intriguing reuse of the existing infrastructure.
