THE CHALLENGE
SWA Group, a world leader in landscape architecture, planning, and urban design, relocated its San Francisco office to a new space that would better serve its business and accommodate the firms’ growth. Plans for the new office stipulated a sophisticated, open plan furniture system that was capable of accommodating SWA’s particular work style, while also delivering a strong, contemporary aesthetic. Integrating the existing structural columns as a point of interest rather than an architectural obstruction in the layout was another design challenge.
THE INNOVANT SOLUTION
Innovant’s FORm_office benching product was selected early in the evaluation process by SWA Group and their interiors consultant, SmithGroupJJR. In addition to delivering the desired aesthetic, FORm_office was chosen for its easy tailoring to meet the specific needs of the end-users. An increased desk depth of 42 inches allows each designer to comfortably view plans at his or her workstation.
Instead of relying on a more typical enclosure solution to contain the columns, FORm_office’s oversized raceway permitted building columns to be easily scribed through the desks with minimal cost or complexity. This allowed for cable management and concealment throughout the space. Additionally, the designers are able to freely “slide” back and forth across the work surface of the product, a quality that will support SWA Group in densifying its workplace environment as the firm continues to grow.
THE RESULT
Project Architect Dew Padilla reported that “the product is working perfectly for SWA Group.” The SWA Group architects “love the depth” of the desks and appreciate the unique edge detailing of the product, as well as its seamless technology integration.
Photographed by Sherman Takata