Design Architect:

Dickson Oi

Associate Architect or Firm:

SAA interiors + architecture

Landscape Architect:

Owner / Developer:

SAA interiors + architecture

Project Data:

Completion Date:     3/22/2019

Square Footage:      6300

Building Use:           Office Space

Project Description:

The design concept is to accentuate the original California Modernist vision of Craig Ellwood, the designer of the building in 1971, and translate it to today’s creative office paradigm. Efforts were made to take advantage of a recent extensive rehabilitation of the building. The design wanted to feature each single pane 14-foot-high exterior window as they marched along the façade, interlacing a rusted steel colonnade structure and exposing the raw structure of the building.

The interior architecture is a living showroom reflecting the creativity of the business. The notion of work, rest and play weaves through the interior and extends to the adjoining lobby and outdoor amenity space seamlessly. Enclosed program spaces are kept at the core allowing a free-flowing main office space interrupted by carefully choreographed communal program spaces to encourage collisions and exchange of ideas. Humor is layered into the design from the external perspective of the space. Each pane of clear glass framed by the colonnade structure is a snapshot of the diversity of activities within the space represented in a comic strip like display.

The design also features a café like breakroom as the focal community gathering space. Designated loud, semi-private, private, play, meditative and massage spaces are incorporated in the space as a reflection of the company culture. Finishes and furnishings are also carefully selected for optimal acoustical and ergonomic comfort. Other passive and active design features include maximizing natural light and a modified displacement HVAC distribution system. Each design choice represents a customized portion of the company’s core values to drive creativity, promote innovation, foster collaboration and support retention.