T3 THE THINK TANK HEADQUARTERS, AUSTIN, TEXAS |
Friday 27 Apr 2012
|
Originally built as the home (offices) of the Texas Medical Association in 1952 the interior of this 30,000 square foot building was renovated to serve as the corporate headquarters for an Austin based advertising and marketing agency.
T3, short for the Think Tank, is an innovative and dynamically creative agency that sought to create an open, unified interior conducive to imaginative teamwork and which capitalized on the original building's character. This animated and lively program was seen as a counterpoint to the original building's stately, if somewhat austere presence.
Fifty years of partitioning and (sub dividing) had turned the interior into a warren of small offices and mazelike corridors. With the exception of the originally remaining central entrance foyer and stair
all interior partitioning and walls were removed, revealing the building's concrete structure. Conventional suspended ceilings were eliminated and new ductwork and conduit were (left) exposed creating spacious, naturally lit open work areas conducive to the creative industry of its inhabitants.
A central, linear entry lobby was created connecting the original formal entrance foyer on the west with a more commonly used eastern entrance. The lobby (is) was populated with a large interactive media wall, an open employee cafe and a glass and polycarbonate paneled "jewel box" conference room. These disparate elements were unified with a translucent, illuminated ceiling, also made of polycarbonate. This element defined the central spine and turned to become the walls of the central double height conference room.
Danze Blood Architects