Danish pharmaceutical company Novo-Nordisk hired us to design their 32,000 sf Seattle Inflammation Research Center. The Danish company requested an office that would reflect their corporate design values that emphasize open, light-filled work environments with minimalist Scandinavian detailing and a subdued color palette. A design challenge was to reconcile these interests with the local staff’s desire for more privacy, storage and individuality. We believe that the result is a facility that one immediately recognizes as being Novo-Nordisk, but which also expresses the unique nature of its American and Pacific Northwest setting.
The Scandinavian influence of the parent company is immediately apparent at the elevator lobby. A crisp band of glowing art glass (in corporate blue) set off by white walls and charcoal tiled floor, greets visitors as they step of the elevators. A bamboo ceiling plane adds a warm counterpoint to these crisp elements. The bamboo surface leads to and travels down a wall in order to provide a backdrop for a reception desk fabricated of translucent acrylic. Classic lounge chairs designed by famed Danish architect Arne Jacobsen punctuate the waiting area.
In response to regional expectations for privacy, research staff is housed in private offices. However, continuous bands of floor-to-ceiling glass allow natural light and the surrounding views to reach deep within the interior spaces. The users’ desire for visual privacy and color is addressed by introducing an abstract pattern based on DNA gels in blues and grey that evokes Pacific Northwest water and sky imagery, as well as reinforces Novo-Nordisk’s corporate identity. Individual staff provided a scientific quote that had significance to them and which was then incorporated into the relite design adjacent to their office. Doors and furniture throughout the space are of matching reconstituted Ash, and bring a generous component of wood into the work environment. Orange seating at the offices and blue at the laboratories provide a strong punch of color.
The large lunchroom has expansive views of dynamic Lake Union can be shared by the entire staff. The ceiling for this entirely open meeting and socializing space is designed as a series of bamboo strips that dissipates the crowd noises and is a warm and tactile element defining the lounge area. In order to expand the view and light horizon, a panel of glass is all that separates the lunch area from the executive offices to the west. As the scientists spend much of their time in the laboratories, these facilities are located along the western half of the building in order to take advantage of the expansive mountain and city views. As the labs are not closed off from the 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.
View Original