Project Description
Designed around the idea of a “home” for Simple rather than a corporate office, the four-story space includes work environments to accommodate a variety of working styles – quiet rooms, war rooms, and secure offices – as well communal and private places for staff to gather. Sunken living rooms with glulam beams used as benches create a central gathering space on each of the upper three floors. A prominent stair with clear glazing connects the four floors while allowing views into and out of the stairwell – providing for social connection as well as circulation. Moveable fabric scrims divide the open office into smaller spaces and keep the space flexible. Like the design for Phase 1, Phase 2 is designed around the idea of a home for Simple rather than a corporate office. The new expansion occupies two floors of a three-story building adjacent to Simple’s existing headquarters, adding 48,000 sf of additional space to accommodate this quickly growing company. While the finishes and overall design aesthetic draw inspiration from the existing core and shell of the building, the design takes many cues from phase one’s minimalist material palette to maintain continuity between the two spaces. A large assembly space with bleacher-type seating and a stage feature as one of the most distinctive components of this expansion. Two light-filled open stairs connect the floors, one of which rises through the building’s atrium against an impressive three-story wood and moss wall feature. Strategies to mitigate noise were also essential to the design of this office, which is located next to train tracks in a mixed industrial neighborhood. All meeting rooms are set away from the exterior walls, and the addition of secondary interior windows on the west façade aid in the effort to create a well-insulated, peaceful environment without sacrificing natural light and views.