Developing Places for
SCIENCE
The most successful designs for research and development create environments that attract and retain top talent and enable innovation.
Contents
Introduction 01. About Us 02. Supporting Development for Science 03. Building in New York City 04. Selected Developer Projects 05. Selected Science Interiors
Introduction Lab Tenants and Developers: Bringing Partners Together
Differences that Matter: What Science Tenants Want
Buildings for Science and Technology tenants need to be different than regular office buildings – so it is critical that the interests of both developers and life science tenants be brought together and into alignment, in order for all parties to succeed. At Perkins and Will we understand those differences because we are the architects for hundreds of lab companies – from start-ups and midstage innovators to global biopharma. We provide planning and design services, as well as programming and strategies led by our in-house scientist and Lab Operations specialist covering general labs, pilot, cGMP, vivarium, and other technical spaces. And we are also the architects for scores of developers – including some of the most experienced real estate organizations dedicated to the life science industry.
The most successful designs for research and development create environments that attract and retain top talent and enable innovation. Our science clients demand an adaptable and economical facility and a safe and healthy workplace, part of an ecosystem connecting both the internal and external communities. At a minimum, meeting these expectations requires that buildings respect the natural grid centerlines of lab benches and equipment, anticipate code controls for chemicals, allow spacious clearances for ductwork, address sensitive vibration criteria and offer a robust utility infrastructure. But the most successful – and appealing – buildings for science go much further by allowing plan layouts which are responsive to the critical relationships between lab and office spaces, where adjacencies, transparencies and layout impact innovation and collaboration. Locating cores in the right places and designing appropriate spans to windows and daylight can make the difference between a development that works well and appeals, and one that will pose challenges to potential tenants.
← United Technologies Research Center Innovation Hub - East Hartford, CT.
Section 01.
About Us
People are at the core of our practice — our award-winning designs improve quality of life by responding to individual and societal needs. Whether corporate offices, labs, or mixed-use complexes, each project is informed by the best practices of the many disciplines we practice including architecture, interiors, branded environments, planning and strategies, urban design, and landscape architecture. We understand the complexities of planning for and implementing varied business models. We collaborate with clients to create flexible design solutions that bring to life their business plans and holistically reflect their vision, brand and values. It is through this exploration of authentic identity, culture and mission that we arrive at the full potential of a place. In a collaborative and dynamic process Perkins and Will works with clients and development
partners to foster a dynamic and responsive environment to the needs of science. Our work in all aspects of higher education planning and design, science and technology, commercial, corporate and workplace sectors adds value and synergy to commercial clients and science and technology tenants. At the intersection of these practices and skill sets we bring together deep resources in benchmarking and quantitative space analysis in each and every program type as well as thoughtful, sustainable and beautiful design at the city, building, experience and interior scales.
12
‘Lab of the Year’ awards from R&D Magazine
4
Turnkey awards for Vivarium Design
1,400 LEED ACCREDITED PROFESSIONALS
2,700 PROFESSIONALS #1 SCIENCE+ TECHNOLOGY WORLDWIDE by Building Design + Construction 2016
01. About Us
Our designs create enduring environments that change the face of our cities.
01. About Us
Commercial Our designs for commercial buildings create
we design buildings and programs that work
enduring environments that change the face of
within the urban context. Many of our commercial
our cities. Whether office, science, health, or retail
projects are part of broader real estate strategies.
space, our mixed-use projects become integral
We understand the business opportunities and
elements of their urban site. At the pedestrian
risks behind our projects and are highly adept
level, they are dynamic places for social
at working within the parameters of our clients’
interaction that enliven our neighborhoods. It
business plans. In most urban spaces, the sites for
takes a firm with broad resources and knowledge
major commercial developments are negotiated
to create the magic that makes a mixed-use
arrangements with the city for height density
commercial project work. Our approach to
and use. Our design work has been successful in
integrated design and our ability to coordinate
creating a vision and iconic expression that excites
the many components and disciplines necessary
the community and civic government and helps to
for a complex mixed-use development project sets
secure the necessary size and scale permissions to
us apart.
make these dynamic projects possible.
With a deep understanding of commercial real estate strategies and extensive knowledge of municipal permitting processes,
Clockwise from Top: Allen Institute for Brain Science, 799 Broadway Commercial Building rooftop, 799 Broadway Commercial Building facade
01. About Us
Science and Technology Today’s research environments – whether
effective office workplace environments apply
corporate, institutional, or academic – are
to the lab as well. Having designed hundreds of
competitive venues for the brightest minds.
lab interiors – from startups to established global
Success hinges on both the ability to attract
pharmaceuticals– we understand the critical
talent with the best design as well as the ability
early decisions that can impact project success
to support innovation. We work with our clients
over a long time span. The technical demands of
to recognize their key differentiators and apply
today’s science environments require the highest
those principles to make distinctive and successful
standards of design and expertise. We seek to
design solutions.
understand the “science of science” through
We have designed more than 50 million square feet of science facilities in the past ten years,
internal grass-roots research efforts that focus on the research industry as a whole.
working in every type of industry including private, federal agency, and academic institution. Our projects range from a 1,000 square foot interior laboratory fit-out to a multi-million square foot science city. We believe in cross-disciplinary advancement in design. What we learn from our Healthcare and Higher Education practices are also part of our toolkit of design resources. Our in-depth focus on
Above: Memorial Sloan Kettering Clinical Laboratory Left: MIT SoMa Lab Development
01. About Us
Developer + Project Management Clients Alexandria Real Estate
Duke Realty
North Insurance Brokerage
Armada Hoffler Properties
Fairview Park North
Opus
Bastion Development
Farr Asset Management
Oxford Properties
Biomed Realty
Forest City
Paddington Development
Beacon Capital
Gerding Edlen Development
PCI Group
Boston Consulting Group
Great West Life Realty
Prentiss Properties
Boston Properties
Gulf Atlantic Real Estate
Quadrangle Development Corporation
The Bristol Group
Higgins Development Partners
The Rome Group
CMK Companies
Hines Interest Limited Partnership
Ruby Investments
Concord Pacific Group
Intracorp Development
Signet Development
CARR Real Estate Services
Irving Interests
Touchstone Corporation
Cassidy & Pinkard
J Street Development
Trammell Crow
CB Richard Ellis
J.A. Loveless Company
Urban Realty Advsors, Inc
Charles E. Smith
JBG Properties
Walker and Company
Crescent Heights
JBG/TCW
Wall Financial Group
Columbia Equity Trust
The John G. Shooshan Company
Westbank Projects
Colliers
John Snow, Inc.
West*Group
Cushman & Wakefield
King Street Properties
Williams & Dame Development Inc.
Dearborn Development
Laxton & Company
Windmill Developments
DivCo West
Leggatt McCall Properties
Dubai Int’l Properties
LendLease Longfellow Martin Selig Real Estate Manulife Real Estate The Mills Corporation
Left: 1812 Ashland Building - Technology Park Below: Regeneron Tarrytown Campus Expansion
Section 02.
Supporting Development for Science
02. Supporting Development for Science
Urban Placemaking Today’s Science tenants attract a highly talented, educated and culturally connected workforce. And that workforce seeks an energized environment filled with the kinds of amenities typical in urban locations: coffee shops, bars, sophisticated restaurants and an active street life with parks and bike lanes to balance shopping amenities. The design of the speculative lab/office building must therefore be the design of vibrant urban places - with multiple connections to the infrastructure that excites and attracts a top workforce and, accordingly, top businesses and institutions. Science Parks Dedicated investment in research has the potential to transform communities. Next generation research centers will thrive off the rich relationships these settings can provide. As we increasingly appreciate both the interconnectivity of science and the power of collaboration, the environment in which we conduct research is changing, and it is important that planning efforts for the environments within which this research takes place consider many new and emerging issues. Today’s research parks must be structured to support interdisciplinary research and development on a world class level, as the focus upon collaboration, entrepreneurship and innovation becomes more important and essential to the immediate and long term success of these entities. Perkins+Will is transforming the traditional research park model by weaving research components into the fabric of urban communities. Our projects—new hubs of innovation around the world—are attracting knowledge workers, students, and start-ups with lively spaces to live, work, play and collaborate.
Clockwise from Top Left: MIT SoMa Lab Development, Regeneron Tarrytown Campus Expansion, Churchill Technology and Business Park
Core and Shell Designs for Science
Renovations and Repositionings
The technical, spatial and infrastructure demands required by Science tenants are unlike anything needed for the typical office market. To name just a few of the impacts science has on buildings: expensive lab equipment often requires low-vibration structures; the use of chemicals in research requires carefully planned control areas to meet fire safety and building code requirements; and, perhaps with the biggest impact, the amount of fresh air required for lab safety can mean the loss of 10% of a useable floor area to shaft and mechanical space, and the addition of more than 20% of the building area to mechanical equipment. The challenge for the developer is to balance capacity with flexibility - limiting front end costs while attracting tenants with the infrastructure that will support their needs. As architects to both developers and leading science tenants, we understand that balance from both sides and can support informed decisions and solid value.
We have reached the point in many markets where demand and preservation objectives force the conversion of buildings never originally intended for lab or office use. In such situations all of the same criteria for Placemaking, brand/identity and intense infrastructure apply - while the code considerations for life safety, new structural/ earthquake regulations add complexity to building conversions. This is where the informed talent of a diverse practice like Perkins and Will can be fully leveraged, once again balancing technical needs with features and benefits which will attract tenants.
Left to Right: InnoLabs Long Island City Building Conversion, Also InnoLabs, Editas Workplace, Example of Planning and Strategies interactive dashboard
Conversions
Planning and Strategies
Whether converting non-lab buildings into lab-ready spaces, or converting single tenant buildings into multi-tenant buildings, the challenges facing the developer are similar: how to cost effectively meet code, offer leasing subdivision flexibility, and meet the technical demands of the science tenants. In the example shown here, a new freight elevator and fire stair were added, along with high-hazard storage areas, building controls, a variety of building amenities, and new lobby and a new and attractive entry. At Harvard University’s revered BioLabs Building, we have completely overhauled the mechanical system with a new strategy for distribution which will dramatically facilitate decades of renovations and alterations while at the same time transferring significant square footage from infrastructure overhead to useable tenant space.
Master planning is about finding the highest and best use of a particular property, neighborhood or district. It requires a balance of innovative design, logical planning and a sound economic model to create a sustainable project. The economics of a project have too often been separated from the design solution, which can inhibit the ability to effectively weigh the pros and cons of design, economics and schedule. That is why Perkins and Will has developed a master planing tool that connects these design and economic criteria through the integration of our 3 dimensional massing platform with a quantitative economic proforma. As we build our massing options for a particular opportunity, we define the use of each building and the site as being single or mixed use. This information is then tied to an economic spread sheet which defines the construction cost, rental income, and operational cost for that specific option. The results illustrate the economic impacts of the project and its return on investment in a live process, where variable can be changed instantly to evaluate the impact of each potential solution.
Section 03.
Building in New York City
Memorial Sloan Kettering Laboratory Medicine Building New York, New York Client: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center ― Size: 91,000 square feet ― Completion Date: 2018 ― Sustainability: LEED Gold®
Lab Fostering Evolution in Testing Demand in recent years for advanced cancer treatment services has increased Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s patient volume, therefore nearly doubling the need for laboratory testing services in the last ten years. This increase led MSKCC to select a site to create a state-of-the-art laboratory that would co-locate several non-production clinical laboratories under one roof with sustainability and efficiency at the fore. We worked extensively with the clinical users during the planning phases to identify efficiencies in their workflow and compact the layout of equipment and tools to save time, increase accuracy and reduce the effort of lab reconfiguration in the future. The result is an efficient, yet supportive environment that increases interaction but offers moments of respite for its inhabitants while maximizing access to natural light for comfort and wellness. Laboratory services performed at the facility include specialized testing in hematology/hemostasis, clinical chemistry, and microbiology.
― WHAT IS IT
Sustainable clinical laboratory serving as a template for future MSKCC labs with its futureproof layout, open lab environments, and garden terraces respite areas.
799 Broadway Commercial Office Building New York, New york Client: Normandy Real Estate Partners ― Size: 160,000 square feet ― Completion Date: 2021 ― Sustainability: LEED Gold® (pending)
Meticulously Crafted Midrise Open, raw, flexible work space for creative and collaborative tenants is not always available in Manhattan. But the demand for such space is growing. So when it came to 799 Broadway, located in the vibrant neighborhood of Greenwich Village, Normandy Real Estate Partners challenged us to innovate: Design a nextgeneration office building that will meet the needs of tomorrow’s tech and creative workforce. Our design creates a new paradigm for contemporary, futureforward workplaces in the heart of New York City. For example, ceiling heights reaching 15 feet offer open, airy environments that support a wide range of work functions and styles. And private outdoor terraces ensure tenants have access to greenery, fresh air, and daylight. Unlike the sky-high developments proliferating across The Big Apple today, 799 Broadway—at 12 stories high—offers a more intimate, social workplace that meets the needs of a new generation of creatives.
― WHAT IS IT
Undulating terraces offer a cascade of outdoor spaces offering intentional extensions of workplace
New York City Police Academy Queens, New York
Client: NYC Design and Construction ―Size: 730,000 square feet ― Completion Date: 2014 ― Sustainability: LEED Gold Certified ― Awards: Best of the Year Award, Institutional Category, Interior Design Magazine, 2015; Make it Work Awards, Make it Healthy; Green Solutions, Interior Design Magazine, 2015; BxW NYC (Built by Women New York City) Award, 2014
A Consolidated Campus for NYPD Training police recruits has emerged as a focus in major U.S. cities, with fast-evolving considerations of public safety, community outreach, and technology adoption. The New York City Department of Design & Construction engaged our team to design a consolidated campus to serve all 50,000 members of the New York City Police Department. The design story takes place on a massive 32-acre underutilized and environmentally-challenged brownfield site, which we recaptured into a highly sustainable and resilient new campus. The project improves the site and at the same time, enhances occupant conditions. For example, in response to issues of site flooding and its mission critical nature, we designed all infrastructure above the 100-year flood plain, and at the same time our team deployed Active Design principles to boost occupant health and well-being. As such, this has been the first building ever to apply for the LEED Active Design Innovation Credit, and it is also the largest public building in New York to achieve LEED Gold certification. We are proud to have delivered for the city a campus that enhances the NYPD’s ability to protect the lives, rights, property, and dignity of all New Yorkers and visitors.
Turken House Foundation Manhattan Student Residences New York, New York Client:Turken Foundation ― Size: 79,000 square feet ― Completion Date: 2020 ― Sustainability:LEED Gold®
The building is on the corner of 41st and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan and will house international students studying abroad in NYC at all levels (Undergrad, Graduate, and PhD). In addition to designing multiple room-types for each level of education, we provide offices for the Turken Foundation, a multi-purpose room, roof terrace, penthouse, and Masjid room. Retail on the ground level will generate additional revenue. The building is 25 stories and 60,000 sf.
Section 04.
Select Developer Projects 4
Innolabs 45-18 Court Square West Long Island City, New York Client: Innolabs, King Street Properties ― Size: 235,000 square feet ― Completion Date: 2021
the Laboratory for Big Ideas The first foray into the NY market for a Boston based developer of life science space, the Innolabs project at 45-18 Court Square West in Long Island City NY is an indicator of the viability of the Long Island City market and a representation of the commitment to life sciences by both New York City and the state of New York’s. The project is a stitching together of three existing structures with new overbuild, to create a facility that is state of the art to support varying scales and programs for commercial life science startups and the burgeoning science community in New York City. The building is designed with central MEP services on the roof served by three vertical distribution cores to enable a flexibility of space allocation and an ability to add, remove, or alter laboratory space with minimal disturbance to other spaces or floors in the building.
― WHAT IS IT
A state of the art lab/office space in the heart of Court Square, Long Island City.
Massachsuetts Institute of Technology Soma Laboratory Building Cambridge, Massachusetts
Client: Massachusetts Instiute of Technology (MIT) Size: 300,000 square feet Completion Date: 2020 Sustainability: LEED Gold Targeted
Part of MIT’s ambitious South of Main Street (SoMa) Development in the heart of Kendall Square’s innovation hub, this 300,000 SF laboratory and office building is designed to attract tenants from small incubator start-ups to global pharma clients, and foster the next generation of discovery in the MIT community. Hyper-flexible floor plates will appeal to a wide range of tenants and accommodate future changes in building use through the strategic use of flexible and efficient building systems. Groundfloor retail will enliven the area with restaurants, service, and specialty retail activities to promote pedestrian-oriented activities and enhance MIT’s culture of innovation. The building’s design reinforces the scale and character of its neighborhood. By preserving the existing 238 Main Street Building and creating a connector through a 5-story glass atrium, the design will preserve the pedestrian scale of Kendall Square. The lower 5 stories of the building create a similarly scaled lower mass to the existing, surrounding buildings and provides ground floor retail that contributes to a pedestrian scale. The building has two dynamic massing moves that connect this building to the ensemble of buildings being developed as part of the SoMa development. The lower 5 story expression with ground floor retail locks the building into the context of the surrounding early 20th century brick and precast manufacturing buildings. The upper 6 stories of the building dramatically rotate 90 degrees from the base to reinforce views to the Charles River. The pivoted mass reveals a recessed 6th floor that creates a living green roof over-looking the public open space, while creating a gateway expression from the public space to the east.
Allen Institute for Brain Science Seattle, Washington
Client: Vulcan, Inc. Size: 272,000 square feet Completion Date: 2015 Sustainability: LEED Gold Certified
Design for Big Science, Open Science, Team Science Having spent many years scattered across numerous locations, The Allen Institute decided to build one new headquarters on a holistic site in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. Consolidation would finally allow this bioscience research company to leverage its trademark approach: one that combines big science, team science and open science. Our team designed the new environment to encourage collaboration, offer flexibility, and break down barriers of private research practices. Conventional research buildings lack transparency and connection among users and the outside world. We broke these rules of conventional lab organization by arranging “petals� of functional space around a central atrium. This maximizes daylight and views while visually and spatially connecting the activities throughout the building. By designing from the inside out, our team created a research headquarters that promotes collaborative interaction to facilitate rapid advancements in brain and cell research.
Biomed Realty Regeneron Campus Expansion Tarrytown, New York
Client: Biomed Realty & Regeneron Size: 800,000 square feet Completion Date: 2014
Perkins and Will was hired by the Developer for the Core and Shell and hired separately by the Tenant to provide all programming, planning, and design for this build-to-suit project. The Corporate Headquarters expansion includes the design of two new buildings and an 800-vehicle parking structure for a total of 300,000 rsf. This project has an enormous opportunity to create a lasting impression of creativity to the company’s staff, clients, and investors. Perkins and Will’s team worked with the client to provide architectural design services which will define the company’s image for decades to come and meet its goals of ambitious scientific endeavors becoming a welcome, creative, and dynamic environment for a growing staff population. The headquarters is a holistic and integrated design of landscape, architecture, and interiors that create a branded message through all design vocabulary which continually reinforces who the company is. The team strove develop ideas which transcended each design discipline so interior and exterior blend as a single experience; to achieve savings in time and effort from a singular, well-coordinated team; and to reduce risk by sole-sourcing expertise from one firm. Perkins and Will’s architectural and interiors groups worked to coordinate and enhance programmatic elements, create an environment that promotes better communication, support new ways of thinking, and give form to the interior and exterior of the headquarters.
Science and Technology Park at Johns Hopkins, 1812 Ashland Building Baltimore, Maryland
Client: Vulcan, Inc. Size:170,000 square feet , 2,500 square feet retail Completion Date: 2015 Sustainability: LEED Silver Certified
1812 Ashland Avenue is a 170,000 SF speculative lab/office building with first floor retail space located in East Baltimore, adjacent to Johns Hopkins Hospital. The building is the latest piece in Forest City-New East Baltimore Partnership’s urban development project, an 80-acre site incorporating new and renovated housing, science and technology buildings and public parks. This 7-story building has been designed to meet a minimum of LEED Silver certification, and includes a mix of 70% office and 30% laboratory spaces, with 2,500 SF retail on the ground level to engage the surrounding development. Innovation labs on the first floor will serve to further animate the street level and are designed to attract new tenants to the building.
11 Hurley Street Redevelopment Editas, New Headquarters Cambridge, Massachusetts
Client: Editas Size: 60,000 square feet Completion Date: 2016
The cutting-edge biotech firm Editas has made breakthroughs in its treatment of genetic abnormalities utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 technology. To keep pace with their progress, Editas decided to move its location near the heart of Kendall Square with the goal of attracting and retaining a younger employee demographic. Perkins+Will was engaged to deliver workplace solutions for a modern office that supports multiple work styles. A classic example of New England additive architecture, the building, owned by Alexandria Real Estate, started life as a sevenbuilding complex housing lab, office, and warehouse space. Perkins+Will created a unified building with an open space plan, comprising a 40/60 split of lab to office space, including a mix of formal and informal meeting spaces. Program elements include an open ballroom lab, animal care facility, tissue culture, flexible meeting space, an amphiteatherstyle conference room for large meetings, as well as kitchen and dining area.
On the Boards Select Projects in Design and Planning
Clockwise from Top left: Northpoint 250 Binney Seaport 33 High Street Buffalo Hayden Avenue 830 Winter Street.
Northpoint 830 WInter Street
Hayden Avenue
250 Binney
Seaport 33 High Street Buffalo
Section 05.
Select Science Interiors
Hibercell - Hudson Research Center New York, New York Client: Taconic Investment Partners ― Size: 11,500 square feet ― Completion Date: 2019
Turnkey laboratory design for the fast moving commercial startup market At Manhattan’s Hudson Research Center, Perkins and Will undertook the conversion of existing office space for the building landlord to a pre-built lab space to meet the needs of an innovative therapeutics tenant. Challenged with a lower floor to floor dimension and access to natural light, the space employs workplace design principles and maximum transparency for a collaborative environment that fosters the innovative thinking of the tenant
― WHAT MAKES IT COOL
HiberCell is a New York City-based biotechnology company that is the first of its kind to focus exclusively on dormant disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) and their role in cancer relapse.
Takeda Oncology Research and Development Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts
Client: Takeda Size:180,000 square feet Completion Date: 2015 Sustainability: LEED Gold Certified Awards: Award of Excellence, IFMA, 2017
The Power of Collaboration According to Japanese legend, a person who folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted one wish–a tradition embraced by Takeda as an expression of its aspiration to cure cancer. Sharing Takeda’s hope, our team felt a responsibility to create an R&D headquarters that would support the collaboration required to solve some of the world’s biggest health problems. The “lab-centric” layout and open office and laboratory environment encourages interactions between employees while promoting engagement across scientific disciplines. Transparency throughout the facility provides scientists with more visual connections between their benches and desks, and celebrates the work taking place inside the lab. The physical expression of the cranes can be seen in the folded glass planes of the innovative robotics lab and the abstract diagonal lines that articulate the back walls of the informal coffee areas.
Celgene Avilomics Research Division Offices, Labs and Conference Center Cambridge, Massachusetts
Client: Celgene ― Size: 58,500 square feet ― Completion Date: 2015
In order to be closer to the innovation hub of Cambridge, Celgene recently relocated the home of its Avilomics Research division from its original location in Bedford. The design of this new space, located amongst a community of biopharmaceutical research and development companies at 200 Cambridge Park Drive, encourages creativity through embedded collaboration areas in the open office layout. Views of alewife reservation and access to natural light were key in the positioning of this open office scheme. The communicating stair provides access to hospitality elements, collaboration and meeting spaces. The internal labs on the second level are organized with shared access and transparency
― WHAT MAKES IT COOL
Home base for a clinicalstage biotech company focused on design and development to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Allen Institute for Brain Science Seattle, Washington
Client: Vulcan, Inc. Size:180,000 square feet Completion Date: 2015 Sustainability: LEED Gold Certified Awards: High Honors, Lab of the Year, 2017 Best of the Best Higher Education & Research, ENR, 2016 Technology & Life Sciences Development of the Year, NAIOP Washington, 2016 Honorable Mention, AIA Seattle, 2016 The Allen Institute has received a High Honors – Laboratory of the Year Award by R&D Magazine, one of five awards given for the international competition. Now in its 51st year, the Laboratory of the Year Awards recognize excellence in research laboratory design, planning, and construction.
The Power of Collaboration The Allen Institute for Brain Science is a 300,000 SF building to facilitate research to accelerate the understanding of how the human brain works in health and disease. The building’s innovative configuration arrays research and open work spaces around a six story light filled central atrium. The high performance building exterior maximizes natural light, fresh air, and energy conservation. The building occupies an irregularly shaped full city block at the edge of South Lake Union and incorporates two historic structures and creates meaningful public spaces adjacent to the Seattle streetcar and Lake Union Park.
Indigo New Headquarters Charlestown, Massachusetts
Client: Indigo ― Size: 60,000 square feet ― Completion Date: 2017 ― Awards: Award of Excellence, Medium Workplace - CoreNet New England, 2018.
Feed the World After experiencing exponential growth, Indigo needed to establish a new headquarters that could maintain the culture that drove the success of this agricultural technology company and embrace its vision to help farmers sustainably feed the planet. The new space exudes a natural feel that appeals to employees, recruits, and investors; wood, stone, and natural fibers recall the company’s agricultural mission, while the flow of the space embodies the symmetrical rows of a field. Organized into neighborhoods, private conference rooms and collab zones are clustered around open workstations to support different styles of working. Office spaces and lab benches are balanced within the open floor plan, keeping visual transparency throughout. The heart of the space is the large central kitchen, where each week, employees gather around the farmhouse tables to share in a community lunch, reinforcing each person’s drive to help feed the world.
Matthew Malone Science and Technology Practice Leader, New York e. matthew.malone@perkinswill.com p 212.251.7065 William Harris Managing Director, New York Studio e. william.harris@perkinswill.com p. 212.251.7110