Tasman Campus Building 3

To tempt workers back by designing an environment that surpasses the benefits of working at home, we created a variety of work environments that prioritized user experience, mystery, and Easter-egg-like moments. The design team interpreted the client’s aesthetic as unique, amenity-rich, “want-to-be-there” spaces that were emotionally engaging and creatively stimulating. For each building in the Tasman Campus project, we explored new design variants of regional historical styles while retaining rigor and discipline in formal expression. The richness of Art Deco buildings provides the basis of the inspiration for the interior design of Building 3. We were influenced by the era’s urban forms, architectural style, grandeur, bold geometric expressions, and glamour – with a few deliberate nods to Old Hollywood. The client requested immersive environments with unexpected moments. Inspiring unique typologies mirrored on each floor with a twist—the designs change scale and detail as the user goes from the ground floor to the top floor, with the point-of-view shifting from being inside the environment to observing from afar. As floor levels increase, complexity becomes more abstract, details become less pronounced, and textured surfaces turn to smooth finishes. The space is organized around the central spine on each level. These connected ‘plazas’ on either side of the elevator anchor the social spaces, dividing the workspace and providing a focal point on each floor. Drawing insights from Art Deco architecture and grand public spaces, the plazas are surrounded by portals and colonnades, reinforcing the civic gesture and openings reminiscent of the changing scale found in Art Deco structures. One plaza provides the main lounge space for each floor, acting as the public gathering space, while the other houses the café and break areas with their formal expression conducive to that of a prominent hotel bar or train station kiosk. Each plaza is further connected by and accented with repetitive geometric elements and graphics representative of local icons. The “libraries” are semi-enclosed spaces that provide opportunities for extra whimsy and an elevated thematic expression. Their purpose ranges from focused work and quiet reading space to social lounges and collaborative spaces. These alternate places to work were opportunities to reflect the client’s commitment to arts and culture and local themes. Some of the design inspirations include jazz-era nightclubs, Film Noir, Streamline, Moderne, regional transportation history, and the World’s Fair. Immersive corridors provide moments of beauty as they connect the existing cores, one in each quadrant on each floor. They also offer a unique immersion into the client’s culture. The result is a series of inviting spaces and a way-finding device between quadrants. The future of the technology workplace is immersive environments with “want-to-be-there” spaces that provide unexpected moments with a touch of whimsy. Balancing a respect for the past and the immediacy of the present moment provides a compelling context for innovating the future.