Pablo Diaz: “Enova, a financial services company, approached us to energize their existing technology department. We focused on leveraging the space itself as a tool to help the team collaborate. Opening up the large floor plate allowed us to increase daylight in the interior while a sense of order and intimacy was maintained with the division of the space into distinctive zones.
Pablo Diaz is a project manager at Brininstool + Lynch in Chicago. Photo: Samantha Simmons
“The biggest challenge was a 150-foot-long blank wall, which couldn’t be opened to the exterior because of its adjacency to another downtown high-rise. So we made it into an asset by creating an artistic yet functional feature wall.
The long, textural wall was designed once it was determined that the wall could not be opened to the outdoors. The resulting feature uses noise-reducing recycled fiberboard fins to become an intriguing and functional asset.
“The recycled fiberboard material was a collaboration between our firm and Tietz-Baccon. The abstracted undulating fins of the feature act as an acoustic panel, trapping any airborne noise traveling through the space.”
An acoustic foam was sprayed on the ceiling above the aluminum baffles in the cafeteria and then backlit, creating a loft-like feel and exaggerating the height of the workspace.
The distinctive blue acrylic panels wrapping the office’s core create a striking visual detail that subtly reflects light and animates the space. Conference and breakout rooms are encased in glass to maximize daylighting and highlight the location’s 270-degree views of downtown Chicago.
Next project:
Manifest Digital
Gensler
Todd Heiser
