A growing company that provides solutions for pharmaceutical trials recognized the need for a larger workplace, to better represent its brand and improve employee satisfaction. The company opted for the upper floor of the historic building they were already in, expanding into a 35,000-square-foot industrial space that offered exposed brick, and access to natural light through perimeter windows and overhead clerestory light monitors.

The design incorporates adaptive reuse principles, making use of the building’s strengths while emphasizing its original character (as a former industrial design studio for American Standard Plumbing). Within the double-height open office space, JZA+D inserted a mezzanine structure with the look of a shipping container, composed of acrylic-coated corrugated aluminum walls.

Beneath the mezzanine is quiet office space; above is a “rooftop” collaborative area lit by LED pendants with acoustical fins. A bleacher-style seating grandstand provides access to this “upper deck” and serves as seating for office-wide meetings held in a “town square” zone, including a kitchenette and gathering space with lounge seating.

The company’s logo inspired the color palette of the brand-conscious design, which also appears in art film on the glass wall separating reception from the work zones – a feature introduced to hint at the activity beyond.

Project completed: August 2018