Arup’s new satellite office in downtown Los Angeles provides a flexible and occasional working environment based on the activity based working (ABW) model of office layout. An activity based workplace decreases dependency on conventional dedicated-desk layouts, substituting instead a variety of nuanced and non-territorial working environments ranging from individual quiet areas, to discrete meeting and workshop rooms, to informal collaboration areas, to casual lounge space. 

Even in a paperless environment, drawings and models for complex projects need to be seen at a relatively large scale. For Arup, Zago Architecture has provided desk surfaces at multiple heights to accommodate standing and seated working, extensive erasable wall surfaces with projectors and teleconferencing. Privacy is provided not through cubicle walls, but through the placement of large furniture/storage pieces which support these various working and sitting surfaces. This new office environment fosters collaboration and creativity in its users and clearly signals the progressive nature of Arup’s work. 

All photos courtesy Joshua White.