CATHAY BANK LIVE WORK

Spring 2021 Live Work Corporate Office

This project seeks to reconnect Cathay Bank’s corporate functions with its historic roots by relocating the corporate offices to the site adjacent to the 1960’s Historic Cathay Bank building in downtown Chinatown.

Designing a corporate office amid the pandemic gave an opportunity to question what our experiences in the pandemic mean for the future of the office building. Prior to the pandemic we had already observed a move away from the traditional office towards the creative office, but now we have moved away from the office entirely by working from home. To do this I looked at the typical single-family subdivision and its relationship to a typical office building. Where each building is assigned a “lot” within a subdivision. Instead of blocking the office into one large lot, I broke up the corporate office into smaller “lots” for each department. By doing this I can also retain one of the main benefits of working from home, removing the long commute while also increasing productivity by bringing co-workers back together in a central office.

Providing employees housing as an employment benefit attempts to mitigate the gentrifying effect of new construction by not contributing to raising the residential costs in DTLA. This design is conscious of the potential future needs of residents by providing flexible spaces so the residential units can grow with an employee’s family needs. While ensuring there is an abundance of private and shared greenspace for healthy living in post-pandemic world.

Professor : Emma Price