Office of Design Headquarters

A steadily increasing workload brought about the opportunity to grow the firm - and the office.

Office of Design headquarters was in need of renovation. Many hours of careful thought and discussion were given to determining program. Requirements included the immediate need for more workstations, space for a dedicated material library, a private conference room, and a formalized entry space to better receive unexpected visitors. Heavy priority was also placed on embracing the office’s affinity for raw building materials, custom fixtures, and a restrained color palette. Following an exhaustive series of collaborative design charrettes, the resultant scheme presents a bright, airy, and open plan for the design studio. Generously sized surfaces are configured to create spacious individual workstations, set apart from the private conference room by a centralized, steel-clad entry vestibule. The vestibule is conceived as a thickened threshold space, articulated by the tectonic assemblage of oversized sliding steel partitions and fixed perforated panels, challenging expected notions of scale. The space is anchored by over scaled, custom milled, backlit steel signage centered on the axis of entry.

The renovation process was hands-on from start to finish. The vast majority of demolition, framing, and finishing was performed collectively by staff. Each member of the firm was then tasked with the design and construction of his or her own desk to meet personal requirements. Custom steel and perforated panels, as well as the steel angle and tube light fixture above the conference room table, were built by studio principal Danny England.