2017 Best of Design Awards for Workplace – Interior: Memphis Teacher Residency

Architect: archimania
Location: Memphis, Tennessee

A faith-based nonprofit organization required a space for recruitment, training, and supporting teachers through an urban teacher residency graduate program. Their new space is positioned between a large public central atrium and a more intimate atrium: a recently renovated distribution center. The space is made up of three functions: offices, larger training rooms, and community areas. Wooden space-defining elements were used within the community spaces to encourage gathering. These components act as connective tissue between programmatic zones. At the entry, a sign and a seating detail offer areas for conversation and define the entrance. The client’s distinct use of book icons to express a source of knowledge was also translated into an architectural language and spatial detailing that color and meter the space.

“I love the project’s light touch—it celebrates the industrial character of the existing building without being too self-conscious.” —Eric Bunge, principal, nARCHITECTS (juror)

General contractor:
Grinder, Taber & Grinder

Engineering:
OGCB

Honorable Mention 

Project Name: RDC-S111 Urban Office
Designer: Retail Design Collaborative
Location: Long Beach, California

A vacant department store became a 34,100-square-foot creative workplace based on the concept of an “urban gallery.” Twenty skylights offer natural daylight and ventilation while reducing artificial lighting needs. A mezzanine wraps the perimeter of the interior space, creating a “bridgewalk” overlook, while a portion of the service dock is transformed into an urban garden.