Design dork
ALEX HIRSCH • MillerKnoll
WORK • Tuesday Routine
ALEX HIRSCH • design & construction project manager for global real estate and development • MillerKnoll
Neighborhood you work in: Gramercy
Neighborhood you live in: Clinton Hill
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s on the agenda today?
I work on retail projects throughout the country, specifically for Design Within Reach and Herman Miller. From survey to shop opening, I’m making sure the store opens exactly how we envisioned it. My workplace is wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling MillerKnoll product. On a typical Tuesday, I’m sitting on and surrounded by Herman Miller, Knoll, Muuto, Hay, and Maharam furniture, fixtures, decor, and fabrics. Tuesdays are buzzy. We share the fourth floor of our building with the MillerKnoll real estate, product, merch, visuals, and marketing departments. It’s quite the creative scene. Architecture samples for upcoming retail projects are everywhere, reference images are pinned up in offices. For a design dork like me, it’s fantastic.
What’s the scene back in New York?
Today is a little different than usual as I’m on a site visit in Walnut Creek, California. These days I find I’m on the road more than in the office because I have four, soon to be five, projects under construction across the country. Nothing in our stores is cookie-cutter. Our lighting is custom, our storefronts are retrofitted or newly constructed, and our back of house areas are reworked for each location depending on available size and how much cash-and-carry the area estimates needing. Additionally, we bring in a lot of custom mill and metal work, and we showcase a large portion of our chairs on a two or three story metal “chair wall.”
Aside from construction management, I’m working on new sustainability initiatives for our retail stores. The goal is two-fold: integrate both human and environmentally safe materials and finishes. MillerKnoll as a company has been proactive in eliminating PFAS and Red List chemicals from the products we sell. I’m trying to do the same for the construction of our retail stores.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
My birthday is very very soon, and I’m unashamedly using this as a means to tell my husband I’d like to go back to Sofreh for dinner. On Friday, I’ll go to Rhodora or Entre Nous for a glass of wine with friends in the neighborhood. Saturday, I’ve begun an unofficial routine of taking my son to Smor for a croissant or Bolle med ost.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
I’m heading to Pittsburgh for the Frank Lloyd Wright Spirit Award Gala. Three years ago, I was fortunate enough to work on the restoration of his (only) retail building on Rodeo Drive. Givenchy developed this amazing building into its flagship, and the FLW group is bestowing an award during their annual conference. While I’m there, I’m going with the construction team to Wright’s Fallingwater historic home for an architectural tour.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I have a (nearly) two-year-old, and I bought him an Eames elephant in classic Herman Miller red. That’s about as big of a purchase I get these days unless you count these cool Todd Snyder pants I snagged for my husband on a whim while opening up Herman Miller Nashville.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
My favorite local stores are all on Atlantic Avenue: Salter House, Porta, and Primary Essentials. They’re also on the way to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Where are you donating your time or money?
Continually donating to both NPR and Planned Parenthood. When my son is a little older I can’t wait to donate some time with him at Billion Oyster Project.