MKThink recently completed a new office space for The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the world’s largest conservation organization. Located in San Francisco’s Financial District, previously spread across one and a half floors, MKThink began the project by undertaking a utilization and occupancy analysis to better understand how the space functioned on a daily basis. Through in-person ethnographic observation, and by studying aggregate data from unique carded door entries, our team ascertained that even at peak times, only 80% of the offices’ 107 desk spaces were in use. The widespread incidence of telecommuting and the closed-off nature of private offices discouraged interaction between employees and inhibited views to the outside.
With enhanced linear circulation, the space was rezoned into five discrete areas based on sound level (from noisy to whisper quiet). Now, employees individually reserve a desk in one of the five zones on a daily or weekly basis. A personal rolling file cabinet to store belongings and paperwork can be easily taken with them to their desk and docked in a central location when not in use.Using local and sustainable materials, including a reclaimed old-growth redwood, were used to create custom features including a full-height planter wall, a topographic ceiling installation, reclaimed wood benches and counters, and a 100% wool reception desk.
