In seeking a new home for their office space, this tenant needed to accommodate their office staff as well as an expanded BL2 lab. Ebbrell Architecture+ Design worked with the tenant to help define and plan for the office program, and, in collaboration with the engineering team, addressed how to efficiently accommodate lab space within an existing commercial office building. Due to the requirements of the lab function and the location of the suite on the second floor of a five-story building, the design team was faced with the challenge of providing the needed mechanical infrastructure and venting for the lab. The solution was to plan a “hidden” mechanical room behind the staff café on the exterior wall of the building to accommodate the required dedicated outdoor air system. The design of the space also seeks to showcase the lab’s connection to the office, by featuring the lab space behind a ribbon of glazing that overlooks the rest of the space. The use of glass featured prominently in the renovation, separating the café from the open office area while maintaining views into the café and to the exterior beyond. The result is a series of independent program components that work as a whole from a visual standpoint and also function separately from an acoustic perspective.
