Jamel Williams
Hand-drawn axonometric of an open office floor with furniture, enclosed rooms and a central circulation spine.
Interiors & ExperienceConceptTeam neighborhoods in a drawn axonometric, the same logic applied across the campus floor plate.Concept sketch, Rapt Studio

Workplace campus Concept

Define the direction

Google WSP Campus

A large campus, organized around smaller places to belong.

In brief

The proposed reuse of Westside Pavilion asked how a 540,000 square foot workplace could feel personal and adapt over time. Team neighborhoods gave the campus a planning structure, connecting a large floor plate with a recognizable home base for each team.

Role
Senior Designer, Rapt Studio
Disciplines
Workplace strategy, Planning, Interiors
Status
Concept
  • Culture & Strategy
  • Architecture & Place
  • Interiors & Experience

The direction in practice

Intimacy through a planning framework

The concept used adaptable 40-person team neighborhoods within a shared planning framework. Public and secure zones, a central activity floor and usable outdoor amenities connected the needs of individual teams with the wider campus.

Decisive choices

The decisions that shaped the outcome

1Answer scale with neighborhoods

Question
How does a 540,000 square foot campus feel like a place to belong?
Choice
Organize workspace into rotating 40-person Integrated Team Neighborhoods, each with its own home base.
Reason
Smaller modules give teams immediate options, a home and belonging on a busy site, and let components change as work styles change.
Tradeoff
A modular kit needs clear rules so that neighborhoods can evolve without losing the shared language.
Hand-drawn axonometric of an open office floor with furniture, enclosed rooms and a central circulation spine.
ConceptTeam neighborhoods in a drawn axonometric, the same logic applied across the campus floor plate.Concept sketch, Rapt Studio

2Separate public from secure, and consolidate activity

Question
How does the plan protect focus while keeping people connected?
Choice
Zone public and secure space distinctly, and consolidate activity on a middle floor.
Reason
Distinct zones afford freedom and security, and a central activity floor protects focus space while encouraging serendipitous run-ins.
Tradeoff
Concentrating activity on one floor asks teams on other floors to travel for it.
Four isometric diagrams labeled Public/Secure Space, Focus/Activity Model, Meaningful Outdoors and Flexibility/Modularity.
DiagramPlanning concepts: public and secure space, focus and activity, meaningful outdoors, flexibility and modularity.Diagram, Rapt Studio

Gallery

The work

Concept view of a courtyard with a patterned, brightly colored paving, people walking, and a building with a green wall.
Architecture & PlaceConceptRideshare drop-off approach: a landscaped, colorful courtyard in front of a living green wall.Concept view, Rapt Studio with project partners
Diagram of the building at the center of words describing the design narrative, such as approachable, connected, welcoming and adaptable.
Culture & StrategyDiagramDesign narrative: approachable, connected, authentic, welcoming and adaptable.Diagram, Rapt Studio
Axonometric view of an indoor and outdoor food hall with stepped seating and inset vignettes of seating types.
Interiors & ExperienceConceptAnchor cafe and food hall, indoor and outdoor, with meeting points and diverse seating typologies.Concept view, Rapt Studio
Line diagram of two connected buildings with labels for the mall building, the Nordstrom building and surrounding streets.
Architecture & PlaceDiagramBuilding overview: the mall building and the Nordstrom building, with their exterior landscape.Diagram, Rapt Studio
Pyramid of seven colored tiers, from Baseline at the bottom to Innovative and Replicable at the top.
Culture & StrategyDiagramGoogle's design principles, from a baseline of workplace infrastructure up to innovative and replicable solutions.Framework, Google. Used to frame the campus design

Contribution and status

Where the project stands

My contribution

Senior Designer, Rapt Studio. Developed concepts and workplace planning with the Rapt team, alongside Google, ZGF Architects and SWA Landscape Architecture, through the design stage reached.

Result and status

Unbuilt concept studies. Google changed direction during the pandemic and the project concluded in 2021. The drawings and visualizations document the design stage reached.

Project information

At a glance

Client
Google
Location
Los Angeles, California
Years
2020 to 2021
Status
Concept. Unbuilt. Google changed direction during the pandemic and the project wrapped in 2021.
Role
Senior Designer, Rapt Studio
  • Senior Designer on the Google WSP campus.
Scope
Workplace concept and planning strategy for the adaptive reuse of the Westside Pavilion into a Google campus: integrated team neighborhoods, a planning framework and indoor and outdoor amenity spaces.
Practice
Rapt Studio
Team
Rapt Studio team
Collaborators
Google Real Estate and Workplace Services; ZGF Architects; SWA Landscape Architecture
Lenses
  • Culture & Strategy
  • Architecture & Place
  • Interiors & Experience

Credits

Originating practice
Rapt Studio
Personal involvement
Developed concepts and workplace planning with the Rapt team, alongside Google, ZGF Architects and SWA Landscape Architecture, through the design stage reached.
Team
  • Rapt Studio team
Collaborators
  • Google Real Estate and Workplace Services
  • ZGF Architects
  • SWA Landscape Architecture