Wood Frame
2019 / Ambler, PA
CONTRAST ENHANCEMENT
This design for a structural engineering firm’s office occupies a prominent 14,000 SF space in Building 4 of the Ambler Yards campus. In order to highlight the tenant’s specialty in wood-frame construction, new insertions within the space were built with exposed, clear-coated natural wood beams and plywood sheathing showcasing natural grain and texture. The material palette highlights both old, raw industrial elements and new wood-frame structures against clean white surfaces, setting up contrasts that expose the structural systems at work as well as the industrial history of the building and campus.
CORE AND SHELL
The existing building’s double-height masonry and steel shell forms the main open desk layout for engineering staff. Lit along one edge with large factory windows, a wood-decked mezzanine level addition doubled the number of closed door office spaces. Lined with sliding glass doors, these double-stacked rooms borrow light from the main space, and allow staff and managers to remain connected. The executive offices requiring additional privacy and sound separation were tucked into an adjacent sawtooth-roofed wing of the building lit by clerestory windows.
WITH THE GRAIN
Plywood-sheathed pods containing communal and private spaces include a reception desk, copy area and private nursing room near the entry, and a conference room, workbar, shared kitchenette, and library in the middle of the open layout.
