Mark Odom Studio Reimagines Found Space Into a Creative Office and HQ

Mark Odom Studio transformed found space into a one-of-a-kind creative office for a gaming company, INK Games’ new Austin HQ. 

Mark Odom Studio transformed found space located within Austin’s bustling mixed-use shopping plaza, Domain NORTHSIDE, into a one-of-a-kind creative office for a gaming company’s new Austin HQ. The project was designed to attract creative and progressive tech companies relocating to Austin.

The open floor concept, developed by Northwood Retail, an affiliate of Northwood Investors LLC, a privately held, global real estate investment and management firm, is an adaptive reuse project that reimagined a large unused area into a creative work environment. The 9,468 SqFt found-space is located within a corridor that connects a parking garage to a busy retail walkway; it was not conducive for retail or a parking lot due to its oddly shaped footprint. Mark Odom Studio reimagined the unused space into a light filled, sprawling creative office knowing it would appeal to a specific type of tenant that did not necessarily need retail frontage, street access or a traditional office layout.

“We wanted the tenant to have immediate accessibility to a creative office space so we designed the floor plan accordingly. Creating a variety of different meeting spaces, work zones, and even gaming zones would appeal to certain types of creative tech companies. The idea was to encourage team collaboration both casually and formally throughout the work day,” says Erin Nies, Principal, Mark Odom Studio.

The office space is occupied by INK Games™, an innovative gaming company that relocated its headquarters to Austin, TX last year. The company put their own stamp on the space commissioning famed Texas muralist Tarbox to create an energetic focal point on the courtyard and inside walls, along with other unique art installations like a Nerf armory and living plant wall.

Project Planning

The owners of the business really enjoyed how the space was organized and the overall feel as it was designed. They really just had tweaks to some of the materials selected which Mark Odom Studio worked with them to tailor and fit to their corporate identity. This included the coordination of a large mural by a local artist.

“The entire office space, including the adjacent collaboration courtyard, was essentially found space. For the overall Domain development it was an un-leasable leftover area between the street facing retail and a prefab garage structure. This being the case, it took some working through to get the space identified and permitted by the city as a shell office space. We then had to go through an additional permitting process for the tenant finish out,” says Erin Nies, Principal, Mark Odom Studio.

Project Details

“The most interesting concept of this project is the idea of recapturing found space and turning it into a place with an identity that no one would think of as unusable. This is such an interesting and under utilized concept of sustainability. When we start to reconsider ‘the capturing of’ the leftover space or the “in between” as alternatives to building completely new,” adds Nies.

The design team outfitted the original dry concrete shell by dropping in creative pods and collaboration zones to divide and organize the space. The plan was to pack a myriad of options depending on work style or need, creating private, semi-private and communal work areas. The creative pods also became the design focal points throughout the space with dynamic linear wood suspended from the ceiling then wrapping down to the ground. These features were additionally highlighted by integrated linear lighting marking the space as special.

The unique angles and footprint created an opportunity to offer a large private outdoor courtyard with easy access and connectivity from the indoors. The area is an actual fire separation nestled between a large parking garage and a leasable building.

“Most of the commercial spaces along this part of Domain Northside cater to retail and restaurant clients. This surreptitious space is along the breezeway that leads to the main pedestrian sidewalk so it is tucked away while still very close to all the amenities and action without there being a distraction,” says Nies.

Products

• Mohawk Group Carpet Tile
• Heath Ceramics (Wall Tile Kitchenette)
• Herman Miller Upholstery Meeting Booths/Coworking Bench 

Overall Project Results

“Most of the commercial spaces along this part of Domain Northside cater to retail and restaurant clients. This surreptitious space is along the breezeway that leads to the main pedestrian sidewalk so it is tucked away while still very close to all the amenities and action without there being a distraction,” says Nies.

“Creativity is our foundation and it’s something we strive to nurture in our environment,” says Josh Gause, Co-Founder and President of INK Games. “Most studios can’t get their employees to come in and we can’t get ours to go home!”

Design Team

• Architect: Mark Odom Studio, Mark Odom, Erin Nies
• MEP: Mint Engineering
• Accessibility Consultant: Contour Collective
• Structural: Bones Engineering & Design Studio
• GC: Trinity Constructors
• Developer: Northwood Retail, affiliate of Northwood Investors LLC, Ryan Muscott
• Muralist: Tarbox

Photography credit

Leonid Fermansky