Corporate branding gets an illuminating twist in two projects where light is as essential as environmental graphics to convey company philosophy in satellite offices—one urban, the other suburban.
Smithgroup had completed four Microsoft Technology Centers (MTC) for the software giant by the time the multidisciplinary firm was asked to design a fifth, in Southfield, Michigan. The challenge, according to Rodrigo Manríquez, senior lighting designer and head of SmithGroup’s Lighting Design Studio, was: “How many different ways can you draw a circle?” Microsoft uses MTCs to meet with potential customers in strategic locations to design technology solutions. Each center offers the same services but has a unique identity. “It goes back to the essence of the target client, which gives it a regional flavor and is in sync with the values of that client,” says Manr'quez.
A Detroit suburb, Southfield has deep connections to the automotive industry, so SmithGroup drew its inspiration for the renovation of an existing office in a multi-tenant tower from the sleek forms and bright surfaces that emerge from auto manufacturers’ production lines. “To be able to put an MTC in Southfield, knowing that the [auto] industry is trying to come out of their flop of a few years back, is interesting,” says Manr'quez. “It takes a lot of foresight.” His team felt a responsibility to translate this vote of confidence into the design.
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