Project Description
A graphic design firm’s tenant fit-out space becomes a physical narrative instructing their clients how they work and choose to develop relationships.
What began as a consulting relationship with a tenant struggling to communicate to their landlord their desire for a space elevated above the ubiquitous gypsum board and acoustical ceiling tile office, fortunately continued as an invitation to being the landlord’s architect commissioned to design this interior renovation. An award-winning brand design agency elected to change floors within their current building at the renewal of their lease and had learned from their previous space what not to do.
They believed their space should embody a narrative that spoke to their own creative process used with their clients besides evoking the type of work environment they sought to promote. Therefore, they needed an architect capable of helping them communicate their vision with their landlord.
The work spaces surround two circulation methods – the primary device used to organize the spaces. One is formal and direct; one is informal and winds through the entire floor; both lead to the large conference room where presentations are made. Lowered ceilings, angled walls and changes in materials and colors are textural tools to embellish the story’s plot besides serving a given function. A slight angle shift at the entrance was generated as a means of shielding the small conference room windows from visitors until they are escorted down the informal path. This device developed into a means throughout the office to distinguish the two paths from each other.
The tenant prefers the informal path as a means of talking with their client as they meander through the space prior to a design meeting, but some days require a direct path. The staff are placed in the space in-between.
The success came from learning how to work closely with both parties to assign an architecture to their story that resolved their programmatic needs as well as afforded them the opportunity to use their space as a communication device with their clients, without excessive cost. Due to extreme budget and time constraints the available palette was revised and confined to common materials and fabrication methods that could only occur on site. This caused us to rethink how we expressed our ideas with alternate detailing. Color is used sparingly, but strategically to distinguish the parts.
The collaboration between tenant, landlord and architect illustrates how there are a multitude of ways to tell a story within considerable limitations – both spatial and economic.