Creating Space for How We Work
ARC/ Architectural Resources Cambridge
Designing our own office offered a unique opportunity to apply the same curiosity, rigor, and collaborative approach we bring to our clients. Beginning with a full-office charrette and followed by stakeholder meetings, programming questionnaires, and visioning sessions, the process engaged every ARC team member in shaping a workspace rooted in culture, creativity, and how we do our best work. Key themes emerged around flexibility, collaboration, process, and access to light, guiding design decisions that balance active, social spaces with areas for focus and reflection. Insights around noise, daylight, and workflow informed a plan that unifies the Interiors Library and Workshop, activates window zones for collaboration, and creates an entry that reflects our people and our design process. The result is a workplace designed not just for where we sit, but for how we think, create, and thrive together.
Designing for Impact
In designing our new office, we applied the same inclusive, resilient, and sustainability-focused standards we advocate for our clients. Guided by frameworks like LEED and WELL, we prioritized reuse to extend the life of existing furniture and systems, reducing waste and lowering our carbon footprint. Working with consultants and partners, we eliminated red-list materials, sourced locally when possible, and designed for flexibility. The result is a workplace that reflects our values and our commitment to a healthier, more responsible future.
A Workplace Built for Connection
Our new office is designed as an interconnected system that supports creativity, connection, and curiosity, centered around an open studio and flexible collaboration zones. A range of touchdown spaces and meeting areas accommodates different work styles and rhythms throughout the day. By pulling desks inward and dedicating window areas to shared use, the layout democratizes access to natural light and reinforces openness and equity. The result is a welcoming workplace that supports well-being, productivity, and meaningful collaboration.
Where Ideas Take Shape
Our new Workshop unites the studio model-making area and interiors library into one collaborative space that streamlines tools and materials while encouraging cross-disciplinary interaction. Designed for hands-on exploration and focused production, it features flexible worktables, integrated storage, 3D printing, and adaptable infrastructure to support a range of tasks. A longstanding hub for both making and community, the Workshop also serves as a buffer between active and quiet zones. It reflects how we work as a firm, collaborative, experimental, and hands-on, bringing ideas to life with clarity and speed.
The new office feels warm and inviting, and settling in has been an easy transition. Designing for designers is difficult, but because we know each other so well, the core team was able to thoughtfully include the whole office throughout the process. That sense of being seen and understood really comes through in the space.
Check out our full Create Space series, documenting a process that culminated in a workplace that fully reflects how ARC works today and how we aspire to work in the future.
See other posts in the Create Space series about the process to our New Office.
Create Space | For Evolving Identity.
Create Space | For Collective Creation.
Create Space | For Higher Standards.
Create Space | That Celebrates Design as our Craft.
Create Space | For Active Curiosity.
