When renegade computer game company ION Storm craved an environmental upgrade, they sought an architectural firm capable of infusing high-end technology with comfort and sophistication. As veteran studio designers, RBDG proved the natural choice to design the entire 22,000 square-foot space. The result is a Willy Wonka-esque interpretation of ION Storm's"workplace wish list."
A young company with such talent and promise had to establish a territory of its own. Gone were the days of cramped cubicles and rooms crammed with racks of computer hardware. Convenience, comfort and credibility now reigned supreme in the glass-enrobed, split-level penthouse space. Envisioning a slick, unobtrusive backdrop, RBDG assembled a melange of raw materials and used them in their natural state. Random outcroppings of concrete, wood, glass, aluminum, steel and aircraft cable appear throughout, their usage uncommon yet appropriate to their surroundings. Proof that art imitates life, ION Storm is toying with the idea of using the office as a virtual gaming environment.
Beyond the secured glass doors of the lobby lies a main conference room armed in bullet resistant glass and foreboding roll-down metal doors that are employed when the threat of espionage arises. Totally enclosed individual workstations feature roofs that block the extreme sunlight from above and are tailored to support large screen formats. A recreation room complete with ping-pong table, a pool table and various"old school" video games soothes and revitalizes the computer weary. Separate client and employee lounges comfort and inspire inhabitants.
Besides the requisite workspaces and meeting areas, ION Storm's office satisfies a variety of specialized technological needs. Original music and sound effects for the games are created in the recording control room and studio. Games in current production are filtered through the Death Match area - a virtual testing ground consisting of nine networked stations. Adjacent to the Death Match area is a 12-monitor viewing bay where bystanders witness battles-in-progress. Above the Death Match area lies the Motion Capture Stage where human movement is sampled and then transferred to the game characters. Assembling the Motion Capture Stage was tricky - no metal could be used in its construction because of the interference from the wiring connected to the subject being sampled. Bringing ION Storm's computer confections to life, a sound isolated video screening theater features a 16:9 aspect ratio screen and 5.1 surround sound.