It has been said that you cannot get through a single day without interacting with something that has been influenced by Avid. Since its inception in the late 1980s, Avid Technology has revolutionized the way films and moving images are put together, to become the world leaders in digital video and audio editing tools on both professional and consumer levels.
When Avid decided to move their headquarters to Burlington, Massachusetts, a 200,000-square-foot office space was re-designed with a high-tech polish and bold visuals to reflect the work and accomplishments of this innovative media firm.
The public/client experience begins at the entry lobby, where visitors can watch video feeds projected onto two-story glass vitrines.
The main event is supplied by high-powered projectors; it was necessary to downplay the ambient light in the space in order to avoid conflicting with and washing out the images. A spare array of recessed linear downlights beneath the bridge indicate the beginnings of a recurring visual motif, without overpowering the displays. Incandescent furniture lighting adds warmth and creates a more intimate scale within the tall volume.
Recessed linear fluorescent fixtures define intensely colored portals connecting public areas with semi-private ones. The diffuse acrylic lenses create a crisp, flangeless outline. The corner detail was carefully coordinated, with overlapping fixture configurations ensuring that the glow would wrap uninterrupted into the corners.
The primary program for the project is open offices along the perimeter, with private offices at the core. Product training and conference rooms are designed around the latest in A/V equipment, with a focus on web-based video communication. Low partition walls and nine-foot ceilings allowed the use of a fully indirect, glare-free lighting scheme, with target light levels kept to a minimum to accommodate the high volume of work done on computer screens instead of paper.
Furniture-mounted fixtures relate to team meeting nodes. Wallwashers along the core walls highlight graphics and displays, and help balance the brightness against vast perimeter windows. The unusually wide spacing of the indirect pendant fixtures is due to high-efficiency fixture design with very wide lateral distribution; the minimalist arrangement, combined with concealed furniture-integrated lighting in core offices, puts the emphasis on illuminated surfaces rather than visible hardware.
The main conference room has a broad range of functional requirements, including video-conferencing, large rear-projection video, diverse meetings, and the occasional after-hours cocktail parties. An undulating ceiling was developed to break up the monotonous ceiling plane, and to provide functional lighting from an eye-catching structure. Efficient and economical fluorescent strips provide an ambient glow throughout the room from above stretch fabric panels.
The custom spines crossing the ceiling organize and conceal linear fluorescent downlights interspersed with adjustable halogen downlights, allowing for varying levels of illumination to enable presentations, note-taking, or special events when a little sparkle is needed.
Photo Credits: Nathanael Doak / Lam Partners (1), Andrew Bordwin (2-5)