Designing a new space for an advertising agency might be the setting for a clash of artistic vision. But the collaboration between RMW Architecture + Design, San Jose, CA, and Rutherford Bolen Group, Advertising & Design to design a new office for the firm was more of a match made in heaven. In this case, the artistic expertise and vision of both client and architect was a melding of creativity, resulting in a vibrant space that visually conveys the agency's mission and design sensitivity.

"Rutherford Bolen is a business that is young at heart," says David Rush, director of design for RMW. "They wanted an energizing atmosphere that would transmit the philosophy behind how they work."

RMW began the project by conducting a number of visioning sessions with the firm's partners, Gary Bolen and Susan Rutherford. The sessions involved key staff and started with a "blue sky" dialogue¬how the clients saw themselves, where they wanted the business to go and what message they wanted the space to express. Subsequent sessions hashed out design considerations including factual information such as growth projections and organizational structure. From the sessions, three goals emerged to help guide design.

The new space was a barn-like structure and featured a high, unfinished ceiling. Structural elements were exposed, a feature that was incorporated into the final design. According to Rush, the design is a family of forms, colors and textures that creates a sense of small buildings within a building. The bold shapes of the structural elements and others that were constructed form a backdrop for the agency's work settings from personal to group, from formal to informal. The decision to keep the structure intact allowed RMW to allocate more of the budget where work was actually done, the personal level, and to use the budget in places where a finer level of detail could be obtained, such as the door pulls, light fixtures or graphic elements featured on the walls.

The existing wood structure was whitewashed to create a neutral background and to visually enlarge the space. To meet acoustical requirements, white acoustical quilting was installed between the wood beams in the ceiling. The volume of the "barn" was thus reduced both visually and from a sound perspective, both important work considerations.

The client set a clear direction for both the design color palette¬gold, purple, orange and blue¬and for the checkerboard patterns that were used to reinforce the kinetic nature of the agency's work. A liberal play of color on color results in an environment that can be both intense and contemplative. The neutral backdrop of the building architecture and the neutral color used on the walls sharply sets off the colors as intended.

The lobby begins the visual impact. Semi-circular walls painted yellow inside and blue outside create the receptionist's area. The receptionist sits at a custom-designed transaction counter that was cut into one of the walls. A depression in the opposing wall holds original art and mirrors the reception area.

Halogen light fixtures are suspended from twin cables that begin in the foyer and run through the reception area, terminating in the conference room. The diamond-shaped carpet that runs through the center of the space also begins in the lobby and ends in the conference room, creating a visual and directional terminus.

The conference room is the only fully private space in the agency and is used for a variety of functions. Its clean, elegant design provides a comfortable atmosphere when the room is used for presentations. Audio-visual capabilities allow the agency to use a variety of media in the space when pitching their work to clients. The custom-designed cherry table features ebony inlays, materials which also were used on the audio-visual cabinet. The firm's icons are etched into the glass doors, another subtle reminder to visitors of where they are.

The design accommodates the needs of two distinct user groups¬design and sales/marketing/administration. Both groups wanted open-plan offices and the flexibility to easily adapt to new technology or personnel requirements. The majority of the systems furniture is either on casters or is light enough to be easily moved. A continuous belt of power runs around the perimeter and power also was accommodated down the columns. Employees can "dock" furniture and equipment into new areas without much effort, enabling the space to be painlessly reconfigured.

Lighting is provided by overhead fixtures, system mounted lights in the semi-private office and by table-mounted units in the work areas. The halogen light fixtures in the conference room were supplemented by two- by four-foot recessed indirect light fixtures, similar to skylights, that were installed in the ceiling. The fixtures are enclosed in a white case with perforated white fins on either side.

RMW is already designing the agency's expansion, which it planned for during the original project. The meandering path that runs through the space will go into the expansion, where the rhythm of the design will be replicated.

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