Designers of Makers Quarter Create Laboratory for Innovative Workplace

San Diego, Calif. (April 25, 2016) — BNIM, a national architecture and planning firm located in San Diego, has announced its relocation to San Diego’s East Village. The move to the Legend Building, adjacent to Petco Park, quadruples the firm’s office space to address growth and expansion in the San Diego region.

The 4,900 square foot office provides three zones: social gathering and event space with an open work café that is the heart of the space; collaborative space with six meeting areas, each one providing a different type of meeting environment; and focused space where employees, all on laptops, can work in a benching environment or smaller “focus” rooms.

In the spirit of giving back, BNIM San Diego donated a portion of their workplace to house the office of the San Diego Green Building Council as an incubator for collaboration and research opportunities between the two organizations.

“This space spoke to us immediately because it allows us to host industry and community partners for events. Our employees can step outside the front door to take advantage of the green space to have lunch, throw a Frisbee, and hear the cheers of a ballgame,” says Matthew Porreca, Principal and Director of the San Diego office. “It’s a space that is very connected to the pulse of San Diego, which is where we want to be.”

The firm sought to find a workplace that would act as a laboratory for testing principles related to the firm’s expertise in human-purposed design and the design of resilient workplaces. Employees are wearing bracelets that sense the impact of daylight on their performance and vital signs. The results of this project are being evaluated as part of a research partnership with the Salk Institute to test the effects of daylight on human health and wellbeing.

In addition, the space has many sustainable features, such as a dedicated outside fresh air system, overhead fans, night purging exposed thermal mass, water-minimizing fixtures, occupancy plug load devices, 100% LED fixtures to reduce the lighting density by 58% below Title 24, access to daylight and views, as well as daylight and occupancy sensors to manage energy use. The workplace environment has been designed with attention to employee wellness. The office is designed to be agile in order to adapt to new technologies and test new ways to work; it includes a “design lab” for testing the latest workplace furniture solutions from manufacturers.

The new location will also accommodate growth for BNIM San Diego, which has grown by almost 60% in the last year and now employs 16 people locally. The firm’s current projects include: several projects at the transformative Makers Quarter with L2HP, including the Maker’s Quarter Master Plan, Block A Mixed Use Development, Block C Superblock and Block D Collaborative Office Hub; the Housing and Community Development Offices; the Juvenile Court District Attorney’s Offices for the County of San Diego; Palomar College Maintenance and Operations Building (aiming to achieve Net Zero Energy); and the recently completed Pacific Center Campus Development, which received the People’s Choice Orchid Award from the San Diego Architectural Foundation.

BNIM is operating at the new address of 797 J Street, San Diego, Calif. 92101. BNIM signed a 6-year lease with Bosa.  

A Grand Opening Event will be held on May 26, 2016 from 5-8 PM.

About BNIM

BNIM is one of the most important design firms working to redefine practice and building performance in architecture today. As early pioneers of sustainability in the building industry, BNIM continues to shape the national and global design conversation on design excellence and delivering transformational results for clients. The firm received the 2011 AIA National Architecture Firm Award for their work. Established in 1970, the firm has emerged as a leading resource for out-of-the-box methodologies, innovative technologies and cutting-edge research in the fields of architecture, planning, landscape, education and workplace design. The firm has offices in Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles, Calif.; San Diego, Calif.; and Des Moines, Iowa; and is incubating offices in Washington, DC and Madison, Wis. For more information visit www.bnim.com