A focus group facility in NYC and the original creative research facility — we invented and coined the daylight loft model and have run this market research facility in Union Square / Flatiron Manhattan since 1994. A true production studio built to document your studies.
Request a confidential quoteFor decades, qualitative research meant a windowless midtown suite that felt like a doctor’s office — fluorescent light, a mirror, a dark viewing room, respondents on edge. We conceived the alternative: a real daylight loft with 13-foot ceilings, 9-foot windows, and hardwood floors, where people actually open up. We coined the term, designed the model, and have refined it in this room since 1994.
Today, “bright, open, one-project-at-a-time” is what the whole industry advertises. It started here. We don’t need to point at anyone — the work, and 30+ years of it, speaks plainly enough.
Every study here is confidential. We don’t publish logos, name brands, or disclose what gets tested in this room — which is exactly why the most discreet R&D and insights teams have trusted it for three decades, including product concepts the public wouldn’t see for another year. One project at a time, given the full room and our full attention.
A real observation setup — a drop-down wall with a 15-foot one-way mirror splits the loft into discussion and viewing rooms, then reverses back to open creative space. An upstairs mezzanine adds client viewing with video monitoring. Observers watch and hear in real time, unseen.
Multi-camera recording, 360° angles, a Soundcraft UI24R 24-track mixer, wireless mics, and a 75″ 4K touchscreen for stimulus. Carlos Montoya — A/V specialist since 1992, former TEDx Bushwick executive producer — runs the tech so your team runs the study.
A working production studio, so we build the set: bar, store, clinic, theater, living room. Realistic, hands-on environments for product and usability testing other facilities physically can’t construct.
Screen, schedule, and confirm qualified respondents matched to your criteria from the full NYC-metro range. Multilingual moderation available. Facility-only or full-service.
Stream sessions to client reps anywhere in the world, two-way to remote moderators, on any platform you prefer. Watch from the next room or another continent.
Recordings transferred within 24 hours, highlight-reel editing on quick turnaround, homework collection, incentive payouts, and video redacting for projects that require it.
| Location | 873 Broadway, Suite 408 · Flatiron District, NYC 10003 |
| The space | Purpose-built daylight research loft · 13-ft ceilings · 9-ft windows · hardwood floors · natural daylight |
| Discussion room | Seats 8–12 respondents · reconfigurable to one-way mirror study |
| Observation | Drop-down wall, 15-ft one-way mirror · mezzanine viewing · live-stream to remote reps |
| Multi-room | Partner-facility hosting for larger mock-trial sessions & breakouts |
| On Broadway since | 1994 — 30+ years · the first facility of its kind |
| Certification | Made in New York (Made in NY) |
| Director | Carlos Montoya — A/V specialist since 1992, former TEDx Bushwick executive producer |
| Access | N, R, Q, W, 4, 5, 6, L converge at Union Square · freight elevator for load-in |
As synthetic content floods every screen, the value of watching real people respond — in a real room, recorded clean — only goes up. A genuine human reaction is the one input that can’t be fabricated, and it’s exactly what this facility was built to capture. Real research, in a real room. That’s the whole product.
Every engagement includes the reversible observation setup, full broadcast A/V with on-site technician, multi-camera recording, and 24-hour delivery. Facility-only rental and full-service programs — recruiting, moderation, staged builds, multi-day runs — are quoted to the study. Tell us the scope and we’ll send a confidential quote fast.
Tell us the study. We respond within two business hours. Want to see the room first? Schedule a private walkthrough — call 212-529-7570.
Union Square Loft is a focus group facility in the Flatiron District at 873 Broadway, one block from Union Square Park — central to all NYC-metro respondent pools and accessible by every major subway line. The room has run qualitative research since 1994 and is the original daylight loft facility in Manhattan.
A traditional focus group facility is a sterile windowless room with a one-way mirror. A creative research facility — a model Union Square Loft invented in 1994 — is a real daylight loft with the same one-way mirror observation setup but a far more natural environment, so respondents speak openly and the work reads as real. Both formats run in this room.
Yes. The facility supports usability testing, in-depth interviews, mock juries, ethnographic sessions, product concept tests, and full focus group programs — with staged-scenario builds when the study requires a real-feel environment (bar, store, clinic, theater, living room).
Yes. Facility-only rental is available for moderators and research firms bringing their own recruitment, or we can run the full-service program: recruiting, moderation, observation, recording, livestream, and 24-hour deliverables. One client at a time, fully confidential.
Every engagement is custom-quoted by scope, number of sessions, duration, and technical requirements. All include the observation setup, full A/V with technician, multi-camera recording, and 24-hour delivery. Facility-only rental and full-service programs are priced separately — tell us the study for a confidential quote.
The discussion room seats 8–12. The space reconfigures to a one-way mirror study, and partner-facility hosting handles larger mock-trial and multi-room work.
Yes. One client, one project at a time. We don’t name clients, publish logos, or disclose what’s tested here. Confidentiality is the standard, not an add-on.
Yes — multi-camera video, 360° angles, a Soundcraft UI24R 24-track mixer, wireless mics. Live-stream to remote client reps; recordings delivered within 24 hours.
Yes. As a working production studio we build sets — bar, store, clinic, theater, living room — for realistic hands-on testing most facilities can’t physically construct.
Yes. We screen, schedule, and confirm qualified respondents matched to your criteria from the NYC-metro range. Facility-only or full-service — your call.
Email events@unionsquareloft.com or call 212-529-7570. Two-hour response during business hours, and you can walk the room before you commit.
You show up with your idea. Everything else is already here.
Request a confidential quote