XAP Corporation
Culver City, California
Lawrence Scarpa of Pugh + Scarpa

Sculptural forms define the open spaces in this rough-cut warehouse retrofit

© Benny Chan

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

XAP Corporation, a pioneer in electronic and Internet-based information management systems for college-bound students, needed offices designed at a modest price in an existing warehouse in Conjunctive Points, Culver City. The architects decided to implement a strategy they frequently use for projects designed in such open raw spaces. Offices and workstations, which constitute a dense area of the project and require similar spatial properties and formal elements, are clustered and neatly organized in an open landscape. Service spaces and additional offices requiring more privacy are organized in simple volumes that flank the perimeter of the space.

The entry and public areas of the offices unfold along the southern edge of the building. Flooded with light from clerestory windows, this is the zone where forms play and space dances. Unlike most offices, the reception desk at XAP is held back from the main entry door by 30 feet. This encourages visitors to penetrate the space. They are invited to experience the attitude and character of the firm physically and sensually as the company’s identity unfolds unabashedly as a spatial experience.

Much of the furniture has been designed by the architect and workstations, conference tables, sofas, chairs, and carpets are as critical to the spatial effect as the larger elements of the design. The kitchen/café and recreation area are the busiest. They are placed at opposite ends of a 30-by-145-foot corridor. This organization creates a dynamic link across the length of the building and defies typical corporate office patterns. One must walk completely across the space to get to either of these areas and, hence, experience the space and its sculptural follies in the round.

Formal name of Project:
XAP Corporation

Location:
Culver City, Calif.

Gross square footage:
22,000 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$1,020,500

Owner:
XAP Corporation

Architect:
Lawrence Scarpa of Pugh + Scarpa
Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Ave, F1
Santa Monica, Ca 90404
Tel. 310-828-0226 x13
fax 310-453-9696
e-mail: larry@pugh-scarpa.com

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