An existing warehouse attached to a brick house serving as the future office space for a software firm. Staying true to the industrial nature of the warehouse, the design approach incorporates exposed wood and metal brought together by clean sharp walls in an industrial yet minimalist style. The warehouse will function as the primary space allowing the existing house to serve additional office space. The warehouse will be equipped with an open lounge/collaboration space, dining/kitchen area, a social space with a golf simulator, and a break area with a wet bar.

The existing warehouse was made into an open office concept with a mezzanine serving as the main conference room surrounded by north-facing windows for natural light. The heart of the building is a new sculptural wood and metal stair that connects all areas on the 2nd floor with a bridge. The central stair goes from the basement up the 2nd floor within a triple-height void, topped with a large skylight. This skylight will bring natural light to the center of the building where no windows are available. Optimizing the use of natural light in conjunction with the openness of the spaces, transforms an otherwise heavy and sterile building into a light and airy modern office.

Site Analysis

To begin setting the footprint of our design, a zoning and solar analysis of the existing site was performed to determine the allowed Buildable Area (see Schematic Pricing Set.) An on-site review of the existing structural framing was conducted by our structural engineer to determine the constraints and feasibility of reusing the existing structure. (See Linton Engineering Report.) The findings from both the site analysis and structural report helped drive the design thought process.

Program Objectives

Our program objectives were compiled through a survey to the AHPS teachers and staff which asked to prioritize design requirements into a list of “must haves”, “nice to haves”, “dream”, and “not required” components. The schematic design you see here provides all the “must have” and “nice to have” while also providing solutions for unmentioned items such as facility storage and kitchen.

Additionally, the proposed solution is designed to accommodate a “flexible-space” to work with future uses in lieu of a pre-school program, if necessary.

Our guiding programmatic design elements can be summarized as follows:

• Circulation Areas

• Classroom Spaces

• Care/Administration Spaces

• Service/Utility Spaces

Design Narrative

We set forth with the design objective of utilizing the existing structure in a “One Room Schoolhouse Concept.” We quickly identified the spatial limitations set by the existing building footprint and understood additional square footage would be required to accommodate the non-classroom spaces. (See the “Parti” diagram in the Schematic Pricing Set, Sheet 5/15.)

Our design scheme can be broken down into three components: Lighthouse, Pavilion, and Loggia.

1. Lighthouse

• The design uses a taller, skylight structure, representing a “lighthouse” to orient and direct the building’s user.

• The lighthouse is approximately oriented to the north to capture indirect natural daylight.

• The natural daylight from the lighthouse is used to reduce the amount of electric lighting needed in the classroom building.

2. Pavilion

• The design uses the original (existing) building to house the learning spaces, conceptually in a “one-room schoolhouse.

• The design celebrates the reuse of the existing building by allowing the ceiling to remain full- height and expressing the existing collar-tie structure. The learning spaces feel as if they take place under a large “tent” or classroom pavilion.

• The classroom pavilion is organized into separate spaces (play, eating/learning, reading/soft- zone, group/audio-visual).

3. Loggia

• The new entry loggia is an integral part of the design solution. Relocating the entry to the left side of the existing building allows the pavilion to be in use without interruption from users coming and going to the building.

• The loggia structure “wraps” the pavilion building and allows for support and administrative spaces to be housed outside of the pavilion.

• The “wrapper” addresses AHPS program needs by providing a singular access path to all the direct components needed for the school and Organization.