LOCATION: A triangular shaped piece of undeveloped land with lowland tree cover on a busy avenue in a rapidly developing, suburban commercial area.

CHALLENGE: The developer wanted to build a phased office building project that could grow with demand. It was important to develop an office building that was clearly commercial, but did not disrupt the low scale of the surrounding residential fabric, and minimally impacted the wooded site. An additional requirement was that the building always appear complete during any phase of growth. 

SOLUTION: A low scale, seemingly irregular, rambling, 2-story building that breaks up the visual mass of the large project. An irregular appearance allows for seamless phased additions.

The light-framed steel structure is actually divided into a disciplined pattern of modules based on the optimum tenant unit size selected by the developer. Gaps were introduced in the grid to preserve the more important tree specimens, creating a garden-like atmosphere of exterior woods and interior courtyards, admitting light and air to as much of the building surface as possible. To further soften the bulk of the building, the exterior is sheathed with natural red cedar and limited expanses of glass. 

Small parking areas were distributed around the building to limit their visual impact and preserve as much of the site’s tree cover as possible. With a short walk, people can enter from several points around the project, making parking more convenient and residential in scale.