Located in a former Army storehouse, this workspace is an expansion to the adjacent flagship meeting and event center (MEC) designed by the same team. Achieving efficiency without monotony, the parti of the project is an archipelago of elements among the open plan “sea” of desks.
Each of the archipelago’s “islands” is designed to allow natural light to penetrate the entire space. “Solid” programs, such as meeting rooms and support spaces, are arranged in bars along the cross axis, creating nearly uninterrupted views between the building’s parallel north and south facade window walls. The central island is a luminous bar, wrapped in a 34-color gradient that organizes teams within the surrounding ring of workstations. The painted wall is diffused by an aluminum honeycomb core polycarbonate skin that changes the perception of the gradient as one moves throughout the space.
Permeable collaboration pods are plays on the Kiva (a circular meeting room) in the adjacent MEC. Further exploring permeability and perception, a bespoke metal screen bounds the expansion’s east side and allows light through while providing a sense of privacy between the workers and the elevator lobby, looping at one end to form a waiting area.
The workspace is connected to the MEC by a continuous circulation axis that creates an uninterrupted 275-foot visual connection highlighted by an arcade of illuminated arches. At the end of the axis, the arches transform into a trompe l’oeil that extends the perceived depth of the view, and hosts seating niches for focused work.
