In this contract design project, a commercial building will be renovated into an advertising agency for colleges/universities. The main goal is to incorporate sustainable practices into the design that will increase worker productivity. Main spaces used for organization, research, and creativity will work together to produce holistic designs for media advertisements for universities, such as Jefferson.

The building is a 1 story, masonry bearing wall and steel frame structure. The existing building has a masonry cavity wall construction with a sand colored brick exterior, applied over 8" thick CMU. The flat roof is supported by steel bar joists, a steel girder and steel columns.

The connections we make through experience is what defines our personality. 

Workers need a balance of enclosed and open spaces, which is why this project addresses both of those needs with private offices and open floor workstations. Also, visual stimulation such as whimsical lighting and bold colors can have a positive effect on employee productivity.

ERGONOMIC STATEMENT: A useful feature about the office workstations are the optional sit/stand desk top accessories. A product by Human-Scale, the height adjustable desk is an additional surface that encourages flexibility and comfort for the user. In addition, the task chairs by Kimball are designed to fit and adjust to human body dimensions.

MATERIAL PALETTE: The finishes selected for this project meet commercial standards for health and safety. For example, the flooring options meet ADA compliance by having a static coefficient friction of 0.6. They also pass the antimicrobial assessment and the pill test. Specifically, the carpet tiles are treated with stain resistant protectants that are free of red list chemicals. For the upholstery, all products ship carbon neutral and are NFPA certified. They also meet ACT performance ratings with stain repellent finishes. The upholstery for the lounge chairs are 100% made of wool that stimulate touch sensory. In addition, the natural woods and stones add visual stimulation with their grain and vein textures.

COLOR PALETTE: The selected colors are sailor blue, harbor mist gray, sea green and earth brown. Individually these colors are beautiful, but together they relate strong connections to our surroundings. Green is the dominant color in nature but in this palette, it is used as an undertone. This color can affect the nervous system by controlling our breathing to be deep and slow, causing a calmer heartbeat. This is important because office employees tend to be stressed, but with the presence of green they can connect feelings of balance and harmony to help reduce the production of stress hormones. As for the blue, this specific shade adds a cooling touch that can reinforce the constancy of a space. Finally, the neutral brown and gray are linked with timelessness because they are the woods and stones found in nature. These background colors work to bring out the blues and greens within the office.