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Architects: HCMA Architecture + Design
- Area: 300 m²
- Year: 2005
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Photographs:Hubert Kang
Text description provided by the architects. This LEED Silver project is the Vancouver office of Hughes Condon Marler Architects (HCMA). Natural light and outside views for every worker in the open-plan studio provides psychological benefit, while natural ventilation decreases costly dependence on HVAC equipment. The double-height studio with clerestory windows fills the space with a warm glow of sunlight, while a filter-coating added to the windows reduces glare on computer monitors.
Project description, drawings and images after the break.
If staff feel a little warm at their desks in HCMA’s renovated light-filled studio, they are able to open a nearby window or even a skylight for a breath of fresh air. Or they can take a break and eat their lunch on the new garden deck complete with organic blue berries, fresh herbs, vegetables and two small apple trees maintained using collected rainwater.
Construction and interior materials such as carpeting, paint, wood products and fixtures do not contain high levels of volatile organic compounds. The new carpet itself is manufactured from 20% post-consumer recycled products such as pop bottles. Work stations are made from almost entirely recovered and recycled wood fibre and include such design features as retractable workspaces, wire management, and custom-designed cubby holes and storage for architectural drawings.
