The architects deliberately selected cutting-edge materials for the elevator lobby and reception area, where canted black wire glass walls offset the undulating galvanized metal ceiling and metal baseboard. Concrete pavers scored in a geometric pattern with inlaid aluminum strips create a durable, inexpensive floor finish in the company’s public zones. The focal point of the reception area is a triptych of high-definition video screens, playing the latest hits, inset into one wall near a curved black laminate reception desk.

Private offices are positioned on the perimeter of the tightly organized office space, with work stations for support staff immediately adjacent. Custom-designed but inexpensive black laminate work surfaces enrich the environment for a workforce that perpetually needs to be stimulated and inspired to generate new ideas and concepts. Contract filing and storage components accommodate sound equipment, CDs and cassettes, as well as more typical office equipment.

To distinguish the three separate record groups and the general administrative areas from each other, the office doors are color-coded with the predominant color of each label’s logo. These colors are repeated at the entrance in four square panels the size of record jackets.

The EMI offices embody a rhythmic interpretation in progressive materials for a company on the leading edge of American rock music.