-
Architects: Valerio Dewalt Train Associates
- Area: 16 ft²
- Year: 2012
-
Photographs:Matt Wargo
Text description provided by the architects. Juniper Networks is a provider of networking solutions headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For an office in New Jersey, Juniper leased 16,000 square feet in a large office park thirty minutes outside of New York City. The space needed to serve as a showroom and collaborative center for the company’s east coast clients and partners, so it was crucial that it express the company’s unique and innovative culture.
Visitors are greeted by a large elliptical form anchoring a welcome space with an inconspicuously located reception desk off to one side. An unobstructed ribbon of windows showcase the forested Watchung Hills beyond. Juniper’s logo is centered on the elliptical form that contains a board room space.
The perforated ceiling plane throughout the public space is inspired by the blinking lights of the company’s rack-mounted equipment. Light fixtures shine down through custom perforated aluminum ceiling panels, creating a cinematic experience as people move through the space. The panels are part of a standard lay-in system, but with an irregular, digitally fabricated custom pattern of square perforations.
The design team incorporated wood extensively in the public spaces as material for the floors and walls. To convey the company’s high-tech aesthetic, wood is used in unconventional ways, folding up from the floor to form objects such as benches and a bar for the cyber café.
Tall, standalone light poles in the shape of an inverted “L” are used in dramatic, sculptural function. Originally developed for parking lots, they are spaced ten feet apart through the public spaces; each one is rotated 15 degrees from the previous one, creating a dramatic splaying of light and referencing the angles of the starburst-shaped Juniper logo.
An open lab serves as the main showcase where the company’s engineers display their routers and other networking equipment to clients and partners. Most of the office is open plan. Touch-down workstations have glass partitions that allow natural light to penetrate into the interior. To provide privacy, the glass panels have a custom film, which is opaque for conference and huddle rooms, translucent for open work environments. . The pattern is the same as that of the perforated aluminum ceiling panels. The office also incorporates open innovation rooms and a multipurpose area.
Lighting fixtures are equipped with dimmable ballasts that are individually adjustable through a computer program, enabling Juniper to monitor and control lighting costs with precision.
