Patrons Oxford Insurance Offices

The client’s sustainability goals and desire for a flexible workplace guided the design of this two-story timber-frame office building. Architects used an efficient, 20 x 20-foot, three-bay layout to create a feeling of spaciousness and connectivity, giving staff a strong visual connection to the outdoors while maximizing daylight within. Primary workspaces are located on the second floor with views to the exterior in all directions. The first floor includes public meeting areas, a fitness area and direct access to a garden and outdoor trails. The primary timber frame was left exposed to highlight the natural beauty of wood and its value as a renewable, carbon-sequestering building material. Light-frame wood construction was utilized for floor and roof elements, shear walls and partitions. Wood’s inherent insulative properties reduced thermal bridging between the wood exterior wall and structural timber frame, and helped the building outperform energy code requirements by more than 30 percent. In the first floor waiting area, wood-slat ceilings with acoustical backing also helped mitigate noise. 19,900 sf / Type VB Construction