Gowanus

Feast Your Eyes on the Incredible Iridescent Glass Walls of Genius' New Gowanus Office

This summer, after raising $40,000,000 in venture funding, ultra-cool annotation site Genius (formerly Rap Genius) ditched their Williamsburg offices for a 40,000 square foot space at 68 3rd Street near the Gowanus Canal. Leeser Architecture transformed the floor from a dusty industrial room into a radiant light-refracting wonder. Several of the space’s glass-walled offices were treated with dichroic film. For…

by Barbara Eldredge

10/30/2015 2 minute 0

Leeser Architecture transformed the floor from a dusty industrial room into a radiant light-refracting wonder.

Several of the space’s glass-walled offices were treated with dichroic film. For those of you who skipped rainbow day in science class, dichroic material causes visible light to split into different wavelengths, creating a unique iridescent effect.

You can see from the photos that the panels reflect blue and red wavelengths, while letting yellow wavelengths pass through. This is why the glass walls look pink and blue while the light shining through them is lemon yellow.

The geometry of the rectangular glass forms, metal laminate framing and long, ceiling-mounted light fixtures contrasts nicely with the rough-hewn elements original to the space.

Mirrored kitchen islands provide another visual opposition to the industrial elements of the room.

Genius is a media company focussed on user annotation to popular texts. It was started by three Yale grads in 2009 as Rap Genius — offering explanations and insight into the meaning of rap lyrics. The company changed their name last year to reflect their broader range of subject matter.