Rice Office

The design brief for Rice Office was to create an “unoffice”-like atmosphere that is tranquil, inspiring and iconic. The two-level office was conceived as a central white floating object, holding meeting spaces that would be fed by the peripheral work areas on the ground and mezzanine floors. The two areas are separated by a double height corridor that wraps around the object. Above a bridge creates the connection between center and periphery on either side of the box. The initial requirement was to double the real estate by creating a mezzanine floor throughout. The client was ultimately convinced to be more strategic and apply this only to the work areas while keeping the common areas taller and giving them a unique monumentality. The materiality of the spaces emphasize differentiation of four entities. The opaque white jaali of the central object floating on a pebbled bed is intentionally contrasted with the continuous texture of the travertine floors, the lightness of the glass side walls, and the infinite black ceiling.