Story at a glance:
- The Executive Briefing Center is a hospitality-forward space to welcome guests, host events, and educate partners.
- Formerly an undefined storage space, the building preserves much of its original shape and structure on the main quad of Illumina’s campus.
- ZGF infuses Illumina’s brand mission in organic finishes, high-tech exhibition space, scientifically inspired artworks, and a central helical staircase.
At the start of the Covid pandemic, designers at ZGF Architects were looking for ways to stay busy when a request for proposals crossed their desk. Biotech company Illumina, which makes advanced gene sequencing machines, sought to transform an awkward storage building bordering the main quad of its campus in San Diego into an innovative, high-tech hospitality space to welcome visitors, present their products, and build partnerships.
Branded Building
From the beginning ZGF and Illumina wanted an immersive exhibition space with big screens. ZGF worked with design agency Hyperquake to realize the exhibition space. Photo by Alexander Severin
The Illumina Executive Briefing Center was imagined as a touchpoint for the company, embodying the Illumina mission (“to improve human health by unlocking the power of the genome”) with tangible branded elements, clever programming, and guaranteed comfort for occupants.
“I think this kind of project sets a really good example for how you think about a brick-and-mortar experience for a brand or a concept that’s pretty elusive,” says James Woolum, partner at ZGF. “It offers a journey of learning, connecting, innovating. It’s about celebrating what the people at Illumina are doing.”
ZGF won the design competition with a concept that preserved as much of the existing building as possible, linking four highly programmed stories with a helical spiral staircase the recalls the structure of DNA. In the final build the stairway links the first three floors for a seamless experience.
Form and Function
The staircase is a focal point of the project, drawing people in with color and intrigue alongside an art installation by Ray King. Photo by Alexander Severin
A focal point of the building, the staircase draws people into the space with color and intrigue in the form of an art installation by Ray King. The installation, “IllumaLens,” covers the wall of the stairway atrium with more than 5,000 pieces of dichroic glass that shift in color throughout the day. “It was literally inspired by the flow cells inside Illumina’s gene sequencing machines,” Woolum says, describing the work as a physical amplification of the mind-blowing scientific work at Illumina.
Beyond the staircase on the first floor is an audio-visual exhibition space where curving screens showcase the capabilities of Illumina technology. Upstairs, the second floor encourages gathering with a dining room, an expansive events terrace, a flex theater space, and lounge seating. The meeting spaces get increasingly intimate on the top floors. The third floor offers cafes, conference rooms, and meeting spaces while the fourth floor executive suite includes collaboration spaces, staff workstations, and a boardroom.
To continue the spatial flow introduced by the spiral staircase, a ceiling treatment of triangulating, layered wood slats builds the dialogue between the floors. The design creates an illusion of expansiveness within the narrow plan. “We could have just put one ceiling in and let it go all the way to the edges, but we subdivided it and used multiple materials. That’s a result of letting our minds completely wander in the competition design process,” Woolum says.
Creating a Hospitality Hub
Illumina’s primary brand color is orange—“a little goes a long way,” says James Woolum, partner at ZGF, who designed the project. “We decided to think more about the spectrum of color in their brand guidelines, the depth of what they do.” Tangerine pops appear subtly in furnishings and finishes throughout. Photo by Alexander Severin
Transforming the existing site required a rational kind of innovation. The building was once an undefinable storage space wedged between Illumina’s main quad and a parking garage. “It was almost like the building was built specifically to be an edge for the quad; it never had a program,” Woolum says. Determining the building plan while preserving the original structure and as much of its embodied energy as possible was the first—and biggest—challenge.
“Our approach is always to ask: How do you do the absolute minimum to the existing architecture to achieve a new result? How do you save the embodied carbon and everything that’s already gone into the building that we received?” Woolum says.
The ZGF team focused on useful adaptive reuse solutions that preserve the building’s place within the larger campus while adding function, beauty, and cohesiveness to its interior. For example, on the second floor an existing curtain wall was opened up and outfitted with floor-to-ceiling accordion doors. “It spills out onto this new events terrace overlooking the quad. It’s a perfect way to take advantage of the environment,” Woolum says.
The biggest structural changes came in the form of safety measures. To transform storage space to hospitality space, egress was a particular consideration. With assembly spaces on the second floor, the building needed a second stairway.
Other solutions are a bit sneakier. The executive boardroom on the top floor offers space to meet and entertain guests with a beautiful view and ample seating thanks to a banquette seat on one wall. “It’s perfect because it gives Illumina five, six, or seven more places for people to sit. It looks beautiful, and you’d never know, but it’s concealing structural fasteners to the curtain wall,” Woolum says.
Sustainability and Sociability
“Every material and every piece of furniture was reviewed by the client because they wanted it to be a place that was comfortable and welcoming to people,” says James Woolum, partner at ZGF, the architect on the Illumina Executive Briefing Center project. Photo by Alexander Severin
The center achieves a 25% energy savings and 15% reduction in light power density compared to the baseline for similar hospitality spaces. “We’re signatories to The 2030 Challenge and are tracking energy on every project,” Woolum says. The reductions are largely thanks to the installation of efficient fixtures in Illumina’s lighting-centric, high-tech space—which still feels airy, welcoming, and comfortable for occupants.
“At the end of the day you can make the most wonderful, super high-performance building, but if people hate being there, is it really sustainable? One of the great things about this space is that it creates enriching human experiences,” Woolum says. Occupants are always close to refreshments and accessible bathrooms, and the narrow floor plate means natural light reaches every corner. The integration of art, color, and textures also offers a sense of beauty and humanity in the space.
