Located immediately adjacent a major highway, this project looks to transform a non-descript 3200 sq.m single storey dimly lit printing plant into a vibrant day-lit office environment. The client’s ambition was to renovate the space in a manner that respects its industrial past yet offers a modern environment where local small businesses can co-exist and possibly collaborate all under one roof.

The 3200 sq.m building previously housed a local printing company containing corporate offices facing the street and a large cavernous production area at the rear. The new program consisted of creating a hub for local businesses with a series of small office suites connected internally by a new central circulation corridor. Existing entry points to the building would remain for use by individual tenants while two new entry points were required to connect the new circulation corridor. Therefore, the new entry points are to use existing openings, incorporate a design language that respects the buildings heritage and provide increased accessibility to the building that does not detract from the existing circulation patterns on site.

The team settled on reconfiguring an existing double door loading dock as their new ‘front’ entrance and transforming an existing rear overhead door as the new rear entrance. These new entry areas needed to stand apart from existing access points. The team proposed a slatted steel overhead structure using the buildings existing steel structure as inspiration. The orientation of the canopy slats help provide shade during summer months and allow winter sun to flood the buildings entry vestibules.

An important element to the overall design is the new circulation corridor. Large windows along the perimeter provide much needed natural light to interior spaces. However, the sprawling nature of the buildings’ footprint meant a large portion of the interior remained far removed from any natural light. The client stressed the need for a democratic approach to natural lighting, emphasizing that all occupants must be in short distance to a source of natural light. Therefore, the team decided to forego the approach of installing token skylights throughout and instead decided on constructing a raised ‘lantern’ comprised of glazing on two sides and spanning almost the entire length of the new corridor. This new lantern effectively transforms the interior space from what would have been a long dreary artificially lit corridor to a warm, bright passageway.

Through the use of simple, thoughtful and considerate street-level modifications, the design team sought to breathe new life into a previously non-descript building and hope to present ‘Park Lawn Lantern’ as an example that even modest small-scale adaptations to our existing building stock can make a big impact in our constantly changing urban environment.