CIVITAS Capital Group / OFFICIAL

Curated by Fernanda Castro

Architects: OFFICIAL
Area: 22000 m²
Year: 2018
Photographs:Robert Yu Photography
Manufacturers: Armstrong Ceilings, Calico Wallpaper, FilzFelt, Herman Miller, Knoll International, Shaw, Stickbulb

Text description provided by the architects. The new headquarters for Civitas Capital Group occupies 22,000 square feet on the eighth floor of One Arts Plaza in Dallas' Arts District. Civitas is a youthful investment group and they wanted a well-appointed office that represents their approach as creative thinkers and responsible stewards of client investments.

The office is organized by a series of formal and informal paths that both conceal and reveal different work areas from the large conference rooms off the lobby to upholstered booths for individual focus to small meeting rooms for teleconferencing. Circulation paths are defined by floor and ceiling elements while significant thresholds are demarcated by the color red. Auxiliary paths act as shortcuts for daily users while guests take choreographed routes.

Upon exiting the elevator guests are engaged by a red portal that leads to a dramatic view of the entirety of the Dallas Arts District. Once inside the lobby an expansive floor to ceiling topographic image references the global reach of Civitas.

The lobby filters into formal meeting spaces for Civitas and its clients with a board room that can accommodate the full staff. A sliding red door punctuates the transition to the open office and once beyond it, the space becomes team centric.

Collaborative height workstations wrap the perimeter, allowing the majority of the staff to embrace the views and natural light. Private offices define the core while still maintaining visual connectivity to their team and the view beyond. Uniformity and democracy of the work station and office sizes was paramount to Civitas. Workstation clusters are numerically labeled and call rooms are color coded for ease of communication and directions for both staff and visitors. The semi-open office space is complemented by a series of less formal break-out spaces that have been visually distinguished and offer a multitude of working conditions to give the staff variety in terms of lighting, privacy, and interactivity. These spaces include a single person phone room with acoustic walls and a large social café visually and aromatically separated from the office areas. Required by the design brief, a tournament grade ping pong room sits at the far end of the office. The perforated steel cube breaks up the open office by providing a partially obscured space with lounge chairs and upholstered booth seating with custom shelving that supports cell phone video conferencing and charging of devices. An extra large break-out room is concealed on the northernmost end of the space. With work booths, couches, adjustable conference tables, white boards, and video monitors it facilitates all types of work and is often used for team brainstorming sessions. The overall layout of the space takes the good aspects of open office in terms of team unification and collaboration while respecting the needs of an individual by providing many different work environment options.

A central corridor contains 24 time zone clocks that correspond to cities that Civitas works within. In an office that speaks over fourteen languages, this functional installation is a visual representation of their global reach.

OFFICIAL chose all of the furniture, materials, and lighting. Classic furniture systems were selected and emphasized the natural light and panoramic views that were in the existing shell space. The modern composition of white walls, classic woods, and vibrant colors embodied in expressive volumes of space with an emphasis on natural light is balanced by raw concrete floors and rough cast column surfaces. This design supports the mission of creating an exceptional work environment that promotes people to work at an exceptional level.