Office No. 31

Office No. 31 was created by repurposing a pre-existing office space and warehouse, combining the original landscape, foundational walls, and front-facing panels of the structure with a modern design intended to improve the energy performance of the office space.

Originally three separate structures, the remodeling brought a sense of continuity to the space, uniting the buildings under one pristine, contemporary appearance. A second story has also been added to the structure to maximize open-plan working, while the roof makes room for outdoor social spaces tying the building plan into the outdoor area. The uniting of new and old, history and contemporary design lend these structures a feeling of timelessness and place, while celebrating the adaptivity of modern design.

Purpose

• Unify and expand disparate office spaces

Slender Features

• 1:40 thickness to span ratio for entrance canopies with heavy snow loads
• 1:80 thickness to span ratio at wood panel roof overhang
• The line of thin horizontal tie rods bracing existing beams avoids reinforcing existing structure (where existing roof deck was removed for new clerestory pop up)

cantilever conditions are expressed as equivalent simple spans

Novel Features

• Site glued composite wood panels to realize thin overhang edge

Progressive Features

• Adaptive reuse, LEED Gold targeted

Notable Value

• Commitment and drive to use the existing structure as is (i.e. find creative approaches to minimize structural interventions or reinforcing)
• Commitment and drive to achieve slender structure where it served the project goals

LINKS:
Suulin Architects

SHOUT OUTS:
Matt van Riesen (Blackwell) – project engineer, construction administration

IMAGE CREDITS:
Anton Kisselgoff, Scott Norsworthy