Hacker has continued a sense of home for Simple in their recently completed office expansion, an online banking company headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
Like the design for phase one of the TI for Simple Headquarters (completed by Hacker in 2016), this expansion is designed around the idea of a home for Simple rather than a corporate office. The new expansion occupies two floors of a three-story building adjacent to Simple’s existing headquarters, adding 48,000 sf of additional space to accommodate this quickly growing company.
While the finishes and overall design aesthetic draw inspiration from the existing core and shell of the building, the design takes many cues from phase one’s minimalist material palette to maintain continuity between the two spaces. A large assembly space with bleacher-type seating and a stage feature as one of the most distinctive components of this expansion. Two light-filled open stairs connect the floors, one of which rises through the building’s atrium against an impressive three-story wood and moss wall feature.
Strategies to mitigate noise were also essential to the design of this office, which is located next to train tracks in a mixed industrial neighborhood. All meeting rooms are set away from the exterior walls, and the addition of secondary interior windows on the west façade aid in the effort to create a well-insulated, peaceful environment without sacrificing natural light and views.