Novo Nordisk Seattle Inflammation Research Center

PROJECT NARRATIVE

This tenant improvement was designed for a pharmaceutical research client whose corporate design values emphasize open, light-filled work environments with minimalist Scandinavian detailing and a subdued color palette. At 32,000 square feet, a central design challenge was reconciling these interests with local staff's desire for more privacy, storage, and individuality. The result is a facility that reflects the parent company's design language while expressing the unique nature of its Pacific Northwest setting.

The Scandinavian influence is immediately apparent at the elevator lobby, where a crisp band of glowing art glass in corporate blue, set off by white walls and a charcoal tiled floor, greets visitors as they step off the elevators. A bamboo ceiling plane adds a warm counterpoint, traveling down a wall to provide a backdrop for a reception desk fabricated of translucent acrylic. Classic lounge chairs designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen punctuate the waiting area. Continuous bands of floor-to-ceiling glass and bright paint colors allow natural light and surrounding views to reach deep within the interior areas, using a GREENGUARD-certified glass storefront system that can be reused in future reconfigurations of the space.

The users' desire for visual privacy and color is addressed through a pattern of blues and greys that evokes regional water and sky imagery while reinforcing the client's corporate identity; a meaningful quotation provided by staff members was incorporated into the relite design adjacent to their office. Doors and furniture throughout the space are finished with reconstituted veneers, bringing a generous but environmentally responsible component of wood into the work environment. Laboratories are located along the western half of the building to capitalize on downtown and mountain views, and because the labs are open to circulation routes and other support areas, these views and western sunsets are accessible to a larger number of people than would be typical for similar facilities. Access to abundant daylight, mediated by exterior sun screens and combined with light wall and ceiling surfaces, significantly reduces the need for supplementary lighting.

In response to both the client's and the region's environmental sensibilities, the design team implemented a number of strategies to create a research facility with a lighter material footprint. Indoor air quality is improved through additional air changes beyond code requirements, low-VOC paints and adhesives, and formaldehyde-free door and casework substrates. Architectural components with a high percentage of recycled or renewable content include carpet tiles, bamboo ceiling panels, rubber gym flooring, and epoxy resin lab worksurfaces, and all decorative light fixtures are manufactured locally. A fully outfitted workout room and shower facilities are also provided within the office space to encourage bicycle commuting and exercise.