The University Information Technology Services and CIO Suite is a renovation to an existing office wing within a 2-story municipal building on the edge of the University of Arkansas campus. The existing space, originally built in the 1970s, was composed of rows of small enclosed offices and long hallways. Although there is a large ribbon window on the south side of the space, the layout of the office left the majority of the offices without any natural light. The client was looking for an open office environment that would encourage the University IT staff to work and communicate in a communal space.
In the open office area, we have provided clusters of desks that accommodate large or small teams. We have provided enclosed small meeting rooms than can be used for taking private phone calls or having one-on-one meetings, as well as larger conference rooms for bigger group meetings. There are also multiple “touch down” areas within the open office space where staff can have informal meetings or conferences.
The majority of the materials are simple; painted gyp board walls and carpet with a limited color palette of white, grey, and red. There is a vibrant Razorback Red textured paneled “ribbon” that wraps through the space with integrated technology at column wrap locations and frameless glass to divide key areas like the CIO Office, Large Conference Room, and Break Room. We removed the existing 8’-0” lay-in ceilings and left the space open to painted structure above and integrated painted gyp boad clouds above desk clusters. Without many walls, the furniture provides a complementary group of rich materials that adds different textures and colors to create a dynamic and exciting space.
