H/S Renovates its Hammond Office
March 22, 2011
As a followup to the unveiling of our new brand image in 2008, we have recently completed a renovation of our Hammond office’s exterior storefront, lobby and conference room. The main offices of Holly and Smith Architects in Hammond, Louisiana were first renovated in 1984 when Michael Holly obtained an old building in historic downtown Hammond. At that time the Hammond Downtown, including our building, was in serious need of repair. The renovated office of Holly and Smith Architects was one of the first buildings to be renovated in what is now, almost 30 years later, a fully renovated historic district.
At the time, the building’s renovated design responded to the popular design focus of Postmodernism. In the past, this approach had served the firm well, but as times have changed, the design focus of the firm has changed. The new storefront entry is a more modern approach which utilizes cutting edge structural glazing technologies to overcome an unfortunate by unavoidable predicament, due-west exposure. The structural glass is composed of 2 layers of 3/8” thk. glass laminated with a pvb interlayer for impact protection, high performance low-e, and patterned with 1/8” horizontal silkscreened frit lines. All of these factors contribute to allowing a certain degree of transparency while still combatting the harsh due-west sun.
On the interior, a system of similar type glass suspended from above, creates a ceiling within the lobby. This ceiling extends out of the front face of the storefront as a glass canopy above the 4’×9’ pivoting entry door. The reception desk has been fully redesigned utilizing a 3” thick heart pine top with black bronze facing. Behind the reception desk is a screen wall faced with alternating slats of antique heart pine and sinker cypress. Inserted within the slats are randomly placed slivers of 1” thick blue acrylic. As a main focus in the lobby, we have installed a 52” touch screen monitor that displays images of our work as well as a touch screen interface to the H/S website.
The conference room has also been renovated to include new lighting, a full height natural cork display surface and new conference table. The new conference table, custom fabricated from clear powder coated steel and antique heart pine rotates 90 degrees to allow for varying presentation scenarios.
The new entry spaces of H/S’s Hammond office portray the passionately inspired design focus of the firm which is rooted in a regionally responsive and progressive approach to architecture.
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