M+M Creative Studio was recently awarded a 2016 International Space Design Award for its work on the new corporate headquarters of Edmunds.
With two floors and outdoor space totaling 143,000 square feet, Edmunds' "EdQuarters" is an inventive space that weaves together a cross-section of tech and automotive-themed designs. The first floor is anchored and highlighted by two Corvettes mounted and turning in unison above the mirror-polished stainless steel reception desk. Other design features on the first floor include a long and elegant coffee bar where employees are encouraged to gather and interact, a mosaic of 2,472 'Matchbox' cars assembled to form Edmunds' logo, and a 1948 Cadillac that has been converted into a beer tap and bar.
The bulk of the second floor is comprised of a plank-desking system that allows flexibility in linear feet per person, as well as additional smaller meeting rooms dispersed throughout and miscellaneous programmatic requirements such as quiet rooms ('Rest Stops') and an IT service desk (the 'Pit Stop'). Meanwhile, a 10,000 square-foot exterior central atrium offers both larger social and more intimate spaces connected to the adjacent interior spaces with over 130 linear feet of retractable glass doors. Inside the atrium itself, the multiple 15' long raised linear planters, gurgling water features and in-ground LED lighting run in parallel lanes like cars seen from above passing on a super-sized highway.
"Our team is humbled to be singled out among this extraordinary collection of international designers and be bestowed this honor in recognition of the combined value and design we contributed to our client," M+M Creative Studio CEO Chris Mitchell commented. "The relationship that we developed with our client allowed us to strive for something that was certainly outside the standard kit of design parts and we knew we had built something one-of-a-kind when we saw multiple groups of people effortlessly using the space to create and energize their own brand of corporate culture."
Photography: Benny Chan