Coming out of the pandemic, this real estate company’s office renovation reflects a residential style that bridges their previous “work from home” experiences into a new office environment. Our Client has risen above, asking us to avoid the trend that promotes impersonal work spaces with employees confined in small spaces, but rather dedicated work spaces that feel “residential”.
Residentially inspired gathering areas offer opportunities for informal meetings, social interaction, and spontaneous collaboration. In order to achieve acoustic performance while also celebrating the existing hard concrete vaults, we mitigated reverberation through a continuous fabric stretched absorptive ceiling plane with openings to the existing concrete ceiling above. To foster a collaborative and flexible workplace culture, the design emphasizes a layered visual experience. Opaque and transparent surfaces were strategically balanced to offer both privacy and connectivity while existing architectural features were reused or adapted wherever possible. We valued performance, comfortability and beauty in each material selection and design choice, resulting in a harmonious balance between old and new.