The brain trust of Condé Nast — its top editors and publishers — were given a tour of their soon-to-be new headquarters at 1 World Trade Center recently by CEO Charles Townsend and President Bob Sauerberg and for the first time most of them learned where they will be seated when the company starts it move into the 104-story tower in November.
Condé Nast will have 1.2 million square feet inside the tallest building in North America, and the move in will be stretched out over a three-month period into February 2015.
Compared to their rather boxed-in views from current HQ at Four Times Square, the new site commands stunning panoramic views from most Condé Nast vantage points on floors 20 to 44 it will occupy.
And Condé, apparently, is not showing favorites. The two highest-profile editors, Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter, and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, are polar opposites when it comes to the corporate seating chart.
Carter, who will sit on 41, is the editor closest to God.
Townsend, Sauerberg and the rest of the executive team will have their spacious offices on 42 to 44 .
Wintour, arguably the most powerful editor at the company since her elevation last March to Condé artistic director, will be on 26, one of lowest floors any editor.
Margaret Russell, of Architectural Digest, who will sit on 25, is the only editor with a lower floor.
Another high-profile editor in chief, the New Yorker’s David Remnick, splits the difference and will sit on 38, one floor above Self’s Lucy Danziger.
Condé Nast Traveler, which had a lot of input from Wintour and has a new editor-in-chief, Pilar Guzman, will occupy 33, while Glamour’s Cindi Leive will park it on 30, two floors above Jim Nelson at GQ.
The cafeteria and test kitchens, with their $1 million ventilation shaft, sit in the middle of the sandwich at 35.
Right above them comes Wired’s Scott Dadich on 36 and, appropriately enough, Adam Rapoport of Bon Appètit.
Epicurious, led by Nilou Motamed, will be on 33.
Other titles and their future floors are: Brides’ Keija Minor (27); Lucky’s Eva Chen (29); Allure’s Linda Wells (31); W’s Stefano Tonchi (32), sharing a floor with Gold Digest’s Jerry Tardee; Details’ Dan Peres (39); and Teen Vogue’s Amy Astley (40).
The real wrangling may come when the floor plans — complete with office sizes and such — are unveiled. but that won’t happen until later this year.