Design Studio

I think they are off to a good start. They had a very different reaction to the building than any other group, which I thought was great. They looked at the lighting issues, and instead of only looking at the vertical planes they took into account the horizontal planes. Their idea for a massive skylight creates a beautiful moment in the building, and it also adds a modern aspect to an older style building. I think that aspect works well with CBI and the products they sell.

The skylight is going to take a lot of development to make it work the way they want for the space. They had already begun talking reflecting and refracting light pattern in the space, so they make the best use of the light they will be bringing in. I think lighting will be their greatest challenge in their design. Making sure they can control the light the way they hope to, either letting it in or keeping it out as is needed for the space.

That was one of the concerns I had about the lighting. They plan to have the conference room on the second floor, using the levels to designate public versus private sections. I think that design plan will work well, but the location of the conference room could be a problem. They will more than likely need the conference room to have darkening abilities for presentations, but CBI wants an open concept for their space. The challenge will be to make the space functional for its needs (somehow filtering or stopping the light from the skylight) while still keeping with CBI’s desire for an open concept. Also, they should continue to explore layout planning, since they are losing square footage on the second floor, they will have to make use good use of the space they have on the first floor.