As if inspired by its own advertising slogan, "Take Pictures. Further," Eastman Kodak asked Cuningham Group's design team to go beyond the vivid hues and high-tech interiors that might be expected at the West Coast executive offices of a corporation whose name is synonymous with cutting-edge color imaging.

"Eastman Kodak wanted the offices at its Professional Motion Imaging Division (PMI) to convey an image of timeless elegance," notes Dawn Wieczorek, AIA, project manager for Cuningham Group. "We were asked to deliver a look that couldn't be labeled as a passing trend."

The project began last year when PMI-which provides products and services to the motion picture industry-realized it needed to double existing executive office space on the second floor of its Las Palmas and Santa Monica Blvd. location in Hollywood, CA. The three-story building also houses Pro-Tek, Eastman Kodak's archival film vault storage division; and Cinesite, a digital graphics, film enhancing and special effects subsidiary.

Expanding executive offices-from 1,850 square feet to 5,000 square feet-meant carving space from the Pro-Tek film vaults and redesigning the floor's entire 16,000 square feet. After redesign, Pro-Tek's own offices and 4,200 square feet of vault space remain. Cinesite expanded its third floor office space to fill the remainder of this floor.

To convert the vault into offices, the Cuningham team had to remove insulated wall and ceiling panels and redesign mechanical systems which had pumped humidity-, temperature- and dust-controlled air into the vault environment. "It was similar to taking a huge refrigerator and making it habitable as office space," explains Wieczorek.

After construction had begun, the client requested two additional executive offices in an already efficient plan, bringing the total number of offices to 14, including four senior executive suites.

"We were able to accommodate the changes smoothly," reports Wieczorek, "because this was a design/build project using our own Cuningham Group Construction Services. We were designing and pricing the changes while continuing to construct those portions that were not affected. This gave Eastman Kodak the best response to their needs with regard to design, cost and schedule."

In this case, the client's choices in furnishings focused the direction for space planning, according to Wieczorek, with shapes of rooms becoming rectilinear to respond to and enhance the furnishings.

Furnishings and finishes in the reconfigured space include custom designed consoles and desks, woven wood wall coverings and walnut, mahogany and ash woods. The floor in the lobby is limestone.

"The use of natural materials adds considerable depth to the space," notes Sarah Stahl, lead interior designer. "The selection of textiles-including mohair, chenille, silk and leather in shades of wheat, cream and toast with accents of tomato red and deep periwinkle-soften the effect of wood and stone."

The overall feel of the space is Eastern influenced. In the lobby, the focal element is a wall designed to suggest a shoji screen. Constructed of metal and wood, the screen's skeleton supports decorative art glass constructed of gold mesh fabric laminated between panels of glass.

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