Clover Sonoma

Project Description

Restraint.

This corporate interior is housed within an existing business park shell of steel frame and stucco-paneled exterior cladding. While the building container is common-place, its native interior is an inspiring raw space of red-iron structure, tall metal deck ceiling, and concrete structural floor. The approach to the project is to restrain efforts with new interventions in order to maintain the best qualities of the original space.

Design Challenge

Structure + Material. The red-iron steel frame with large wide-flange columns and open-web trusses carry with them a quality of Age which the design embraces. Steel fabrication markings are left in place. The existing structure is straightforward, un-modified, and ordered. Within the shell, a reclaimed oak cladding is introduced, independent of the structure. The wood finish is positioned to define quasi-public spaces as distinct from private areas, to delineate circulation thru the interior, and to support the idea of Age as the project's material definition. Together, the preservation of the raw warehouse character of the space and the introduction of oak cladding reflect the agricultural heritage of the company and the region.

Physical Context

Program + Organization. The spatial organization maintains a wide-open interior area with circulation end-to-end. This path thru defines areas of the interior that are shared with the public, and those that are maintained as private zones. Workstations occupy the open middle portion of the plan and act as a buffer. Flexible break-out work spaces are located near the edges in areas with ample daylight. Overall, the interior demonstrates a balance between the qualities of a new workplace and the familiar, unpretentious nature of the brand and its people.