dappled green

nestled ideas, nestled office culture:

office design for cp+b in uptown oakland

At first I wondered how "Big Advertising" would fit in Uptown Oakland at all.  As an Oakland resident, I view my city as a place that doesn't really want to be told what to buy or who to be.  We protest; we Occupy; we have independent businesses we covet to buy local wares, local food, local identity, really. Honestly, I may have made myself a victim of my own advertising, thinking that just because I value those things, I can can speak for my entire neighborhood, let alone my entire city.  So, when given this design prompt to place CP+B, an agency that represents large corporate advertising, in a neighborhood that is having a huge growth spurt in the local artist and food scene and within a site consisting of two buildings separated by a BART station entrance and a public walkway, I decided that all of those factors just needed to communicate and maybe even try to hug it out.

proposed - view from Broadway

The big idea was to create a creative office environment that felt non-hierarchical, open and flexible in use and allowed for quiet creative time as well as collaborative workspaces.

The interior environment had to allow for programming where people in all departments could interact, form and split off from quick meetings and generally offer for an unhindered flow of ideas through the office like the "factory" of creativity that CP+B holds as their office culture.

collaborative workstation - print production department with high tables for standing meetings and pinup walls

creatives have a large collaborative workstation as well as private workstations

In addition to being an effective environment for CP+B to work effectively, the office had to appear open to the community around it.  They needed to join in without blending in to the Uptown Oakland scene that includes nightlife, Art Murmur and gallery spaces and a general pride for being Oakland.  This can be accomplished by making the main activities of the office transparent and viewable from the street.  From the Broadway side, a street that houses mainly business and banks, CP+B would show meetings and collaborative work.  From the Telegraph side, hosting mainly bars, galleries, venues and restaurants, CP+B would greet the neighborhood with a public cafe, an auditorium that can be used for public events and an outdoor terrace for events and parties.