3rd Place - $600 prizePerforated Accents
Submitted by:
Architect: Shubin + Donaldson Architects
Photos: Tom BonnerOgilvy & Mather, Los Angeles
Architect Team:
Russell Shubin, AIA, partner
Robin Donaldson, AIA, partner
Sean Hagan, project architect/manager
Josh Blumer, project architect
Fred Besancon, project team
Mahyar Abousaeedi, project team
Mark Gee, project team
Mark Hershman, project team
Mina Javid, project team
Brennan Linder, project team
Rob Sutman, project team
Eric Owen Moss (Meeting/Gathering space executed in collaboration with shell-and-core architect Eric Owen Moss)
Location: Conjunctive Points, Culver City, CA
Size: 30,000 square feet
Cost: $65 per sq. ft.
Client:
Ogilvy & Mather is a brand-name advertising agency and a leader worldwide. The company’s executives were looking to reinvent themselves with leading-edge design of new offices in Los Angeles. After interviewing the top interior design firms in the U.S., the client chose this relatively young architectural team who they believed would create an exciting new direction for an agency that has had a traditional, “blue-suit” reputation.
Program:
The new office space is intended to communicate a commitment to cutting-edge work, and feature the latest communication technology, including a complete internal post-production facility. The design team was asked to build an open plan work space to house a staff of more than 110 people.
Site: The new offices are located in a former light industrial area that was recently redeveloped as a technology and arts district.
Design: Behind a front-facing, angled plate-glass wall, a perforated-metal tunnel known as “The Tube” dominates the entrance to the offices and is intended to serve as a gallery entry path to the rest of the building. The Tube is a 14-foot-high, steel-framed structure skinned with perforated aluminum sheets. Multiple LCD display screens with programs of client and office work line the tube, and change depending upon who will be visiting and what will be taking place in the building each day. The visual and audio foster expectations as one travels 44 feet through the Tube.
The Tube is instrumental in meeting the communicative and transformative goals. First, it is seen from the outside, drawing the eye in while simultaneously precluding a fish-bowl effect for the workers inside. It also modulates between the Interior and the office work spaces. Upon entering, the Tube provides transition from the unorchestrated outside world, into another realm of challenging and engaging space. It represents the client’s desire for people to ask questions and challenge the typical ways of thinking about this ad agency.
At the end of the Tube is a 16-foot-high dividing wall made of 4'x4' acrylic plates that sport Scotchprint super-graphics of quotes by the company’s founder, whose large face takes up half of the glass wall. From the founder: “We sell or else. … We sell or get fired.”
The design teams used the decidedly spare, elemental 30,000 square feet of industrial space as an advantage in the program with a cost of $65 per square foot. Structural wood beams and large, plate-glass windows around the perimeter walls provide natural light through the office; they also lend character internally and externally.
The architects have provided for state-of-the-art technology throughout the facility. Each custom-designed workstation uses the same materials seen throughout the space, such as perforated metal and steel—the goal here being to construct a strong integration between the building and its function. A large existing stage pit, originally intended for theatrical productions, has been transformed into an impressive conference room and gathering site. (This area done in collaboration with the shell-and-core architect.) Eight 12'x20' war rooms surround this space, and provide privacy for working teams. Each room is dedicated to top clients: their settings are designed particularly for them, and presentation materials are easily accessible.
Firm:
Shubin + Donaldson Architects, established in 1990 in Culver City, CA, is an inventive, young firm whose current work includes a diverse listing of commercial projects ranging from entertainment-business studios, creative offices and retail stores, to community centers and custom residences. Russell Shubin, AIA, and Robin Donaldson, AIA, have distinguished principals of the “branded environment,” which they apply to their clients in technology, advertising, Internet, and creative production. Their approach addresses the characteristics of branding, function, adaptability, and anti-hierarchical structures, which are designed with clear interior concepts and commitment to good design as a means to achieve business goals.
Boca Raton, FL 33486 561-447-7511 IPERF.org
