MullenLowe / TPG Architecture

MullenLowe / TPG Architecture

MullenLowe / TPG Architecture - BeamMullenLowe / TPG Architecture - Chair, BeamMullenLowe / TPG Architecture - Table, WindowsMullenLowe / TPG Architecture - Table, Windows, Chair, FacadeMullenLowe / TPG Architecture - More Images+ 17

  • Architects: TPG Architecture
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  37500 ft²
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2016
  • Photographs
    Photographs:Eric Laignel
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Interface, Benjamin Moore, CKS Architectural Millwork, Corian, Dupont Corian, Formica, Formica
, Green Acoustics Building Products, Herman Miller, Herman Miller , Hive Mind Design, Knoll Antenna for Benching, Knoll International, Robin Reigi, Roll & Hill, Upholstery, Vogl Decken systeme / Acoustic Ceiling panels, Wilsonart, Wilsonarte, Formica
MullenLowe / TPG Architecture - Table, Chair
© Eric Laignel

Text description provided by the architects. After a successful teaming for the design of their Boston headquarters, MullenLowe engaged TPG Architecture to design its new office in Winston-Salem, NC: a 37,500 square foot space in the city’s newly developed Wake Forest Innovation Quarter. The office design was an opportunity to create a strong communications touchpoint expressing MullenLowe’s identity as a “challenger” in the advertising industry, a scrappy do-everything ad firm with a global reach.

MullenLowe / TPG Architecture - Windows
© Eric Laignel

MullenLowe’s staff work in multiple disciplines for diverse clientele, so their space had to be flexible and inspirational. The space itself was breathtaking when the design team first walked through. Built in the 1930’s, the building was originally a tobacco factory. A large, deep floorplate, 14’ ceilings and metal-frame windows were the raw materials that provided the framework for MullenLowe’s new offices.

MullenLowe / TPG Architecture - Lighting, Beam
© Eric Laignel

The design concept was to respect and celebrate the existing structure, leaving the walls and ceiling untouched by using floating free forms – rectangular boxes built between the columns – to create space within the space.

MullenLowe / TPG Architecture - Table, Chair
© Eric Laignel

The L-shaped floor plate naturally split the space in two distinct wings. The reception area is logically situated at the vertex of the wings, in an existing open atrium with stairs to the lobby. By placing reception there and using the free form boxes to subdivide the space, the design team was able to bring focus and continuity to the plan, dividing the raw space into functional neighborhoods and providing myriad open and inspiring creative environments. The program required an assortment of collaborative spaces including conference rooms, huddle booths, photo and recording studios, and a media screening room with stadium seating.

Plan

Structural columns and beams were left exposed, still coated with nearly a century of layered paint, which was minimally sandblasted to prevent peeling. Finishes and furniture were inspired by the raw space; the free form boxes are clad in plywood and dark-gray painted sheetrock, while the chair colors were sampled from the peeling paint on the concrete walls. The designers devised a system of perforated metal screens to allow for magnetic pin-up space throughout the office without interrupting the openness and fluidity of the floor.

MullenLowe / TPG Architecture - Table, Windows, Chair, Facade
© Eric Laignel

Today, MullenLowe’s space is more conducive for hosting events for local groups such as the Arts Council, as well as outside vendors, such as the local coffee house who provide the staff with on-site barista. Internally, the open work environment and common areas allow for more accidental collisions and natural collaborations, all of which are selling points when hiring new talent and pitching clients.

MullenLowe / TPG Architecture - Table, Chair, Windows
© Eric Laignel

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Project location

Address:Winston-Salem, NC, United States

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "MullenLowe / TPG Architecture" 28 Dec 2016. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/802361/mullenlowe-tpg-architecture> ISSN 0719-8884

© Eric Laignel

MullenLowe / TPG Architecture

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