The celebrated architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ) enlisted Volume to help with their renovation of a tech company’s Pittsburgh office in the historic former Nabisco factory, now called Bakery Square. Building on both the unifying design motifs and narrative themes already established by the company and BCJ, we further honed the story by combining the company’s can-do ethos with local cues (past and present) such as the signature yellow steel bridges, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, the local railroad history, and even the famous dinosaur skeletons at the Carnegie Museum nearby. We then deployed these ideas at all scales, including macro installations, the entire wayfinding system, and “easter egg” moments across the entire campus.
Bridges, Mr. Rogers, and even a dinosaur.
This office is located in Bakery Square, part of the rejuvenated East Liberty neighborhood in Pittsburgh, and is the former home of a Nabisco Factory. The site is also adjacent to a former railroad station.
The concept is first unified through the yellow color of the signature Pittsburgh bridges, a water “pattern” evoking the three rivers that come together at the downtown “point,” and a typeface reminiscent of the city’s industrial past. Instead of a typical exterior logo sign, we created a 12-foot-high yellow-painted steel version of the company’s dinosaur icon to mirror the one seen in front of the Carnegie Museum. This materiality is carried through in the office interior on floor directories, room identification, and other wayfinding elements. The more public-facing first-floor area has a workshop feel, so we picked up BCJ’s raw wood design cues on orientation maps and a quote from Fred Rogers running the length of the space.
Yes, that’s actual Pittsburgh steel!
“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” —Mr. Rogers
The various cafes and mini-kitchens across the office’s multiple floors have themes independent of the main building narrative. One celebrates Pittsburgh’s esteemed and beloved aviary; another secret “speakeasy” honors Alfred L. Cralle, the inventor of the ice cream scoop and a Pittsburgh native; and the Elements Cafe is a sly nod to the film The Fifth Element, among other references.
Wait, can you eat the ice cream cone lamps?
