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Cognito Films specializes in producing TV commercials for national brands. It needed an office that demonstrated the creativity of its business while providing the functionality for the fast-paced work of producing commercials. The project consists of an interior re-use of an 11,312 square foot (1,051 square meter) former warehouse having an unusually high timber bowstring truss system. The interior consists of a reception area, offices, conference rooms, employee cafŽ/lounge, production pits, film editing bays, media room and tape library.

More than anything, the client wanted something Òfresh," something that neither the staff nor clients would have seen before, that related to the constant reinvention necessary to stay on the creative edge of advertising. This notion is apparent in the expressive assembly of timbers arranged as though under continual construction. The visual weight and randomness of the 12" x 12" (30.5 centimeter) timbers establishes a stark contrast with the apparent lightness of the more ordered bowstring trusses.

The stacked timbers form the walls of a conference room, media room, audio/video editing room, and staff workroom. They also support a mezzanine-level staff lounge. Two levels of offices along the west wall serve as a backdrop and frees the plan to allow the timbers to stand as a sculptural object.

The heavy timbers used for the project came from a local Los Angeles lumber yard and were selected from their in-stock supply of Òboxed heart" Douglas firm lumber cut from reforested, new growth trees. Timber lengths range typically from 14 feet (4.3meter) to 33 feet (10 meter) the latter length used in the inclined stack wall that borders the ramp to the mezzanine staff lounge. The timbers are held together using simple combinations of steel angles saddles and splice plates with 3/4-inch (2 centimeter) diameter bolts. Stacked timbers were drilled through on 7 foot (2.1 meter) centers to receive 3 inch (7.6 centimeter) diameter steel pipe and also glued along their entire lengths. No finish was applied so as to leave the wood grain fully open to sight and touch.