Case Study 1: Office building for big-box store
Due Wednesday September 16 by 10 am; comments as possible.
Use category: Big box office
A major big-box retailer commissioned an architectural firm to design a new office building on an expansive site near its headquarters in a small city. The client wanted the office to be as efficient as possible and asked the architect to model it after its big-box stores, with the goal of fitting as many employees as possible into the space. While this would put the staff far from any windows, with little visual or acoustical privacy, the client argued that such efficiency fit the image of a discount retailer and that if its store employees could would work in a big box, so should its headquarters staff.
From Ethics for Architects: 50 Dilemmas of Professional Practice by Thomas Fisher, New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2010, p 73.
Discuss the following:
What is your evaluation of the client’s intent? What would be your approach to this design problem?
What more information would you request from the client?
At what stage of the contract should this issues be discussed?
