ROBINSON CONSTRUCTION
http://www.robinsonconstruction.com
Project:
To provide interior design assistance for Robinson Construction, a Perryville, MO construction company, in which their project that was well underway turning an on-site warehouse into additional office space and a meeting facility with a reception station so they can redirect guests for employment opportunities and meetings. Once this project was completed they brought me back in assist with turning an additional warehouse into a larger meeting/training facility that would handle more people.
Inspiration:
Paul Findlay wanted a modern atmosphere with traditional accents to prevent the space from feeling to cold and uninviting. He wanted an environment that didn’t exist between Perryville and St. Louis with lots of glass doors, partitions and handrails for the floating steel mall mounted steps. He wanted to make sure whatever we selected for the initial new space it would be able to be ran into the second phase. Since this was an addition, the colors needed flow from the existing hallway, into the (first phase) office and meeting area as well as into the (second phase) conference/training facility. The existing facility had very neutral walls, a beige boarder carpet with contrasting green inset runners spanning the U-shaped hallways.
The Client:
I worked very close with Paul Findlay, director of preconstruction and Adam Wicker, the project manager for this particular project at Robinson Construction. Robinson Construction provides EPC, design-build, general contracting, and maintenance services to a variety of specialized markets. They maintain tight project controls by utilizing their specialized in-house teams experienced in building construction, millwright work/rigging/equipment installation, material handling & conveying systems, structural concrete, structural steel, piping, civil, mechanical, structural, or a specialty service.
What We Love:
• All of the glass and the custom etched vinyl that was applied. Once all of the glass had been installed, we realized that a small amount of privacy and interest needed to be added since there wasn’t a lot of wall space to hang any art and the employees felt very exposed. It made sense we needed to showcase their trade as a company and incorporate silhouettes of their job-sites, their logo, names, titles and a pdf of a custom designed boarder that incorporated many elements of what they stand for, on the full length and partial walls, doors and handrails throughout the space.
• The Armstrong Wood Looks Create drop ceiling tying in with the structural sheet rock covered trusses. The ceiling was one of the areas we were wanting to add some warmth to and due to the fact that the ceilings were so high, we took advantage of the opportunity to create a darker and more dramatic ceiling. We chose the walnut 2’x2’ ceiling tiles, selected a black ceiling grid and painted the trusses a dark brown that was reused in other areas as well.
• The way the new carpet tile coordinated with the existing carpet boarder and inset runners that I had to work with. This became the stepping stone for the rest of the finishes and the additional carpet selections that were made.
What We Did:
I pulled together all of the necessary finishes including: paint colors Sherwin Williams- Black Bean, Chamomile, Portabello and Basket Beige for the walls, casing, base and handrails, Wilsonart- Sunstone countertops, Espresso Palencia and pre-made stock unfinished cabinetry that was later painted and hardware was added, Woodlore finishes for the two-tone commercial furniture (conference and break tables, desks, drafting tables, file pedestals and wall mount shelving with frosted glass and brushed nickel doors, Armstrong Wood Looks- Walnut ceiling tiles with black grid, Shaw- Sketch and Veil- Desert carpet tile, C&A Abrasive Walk-Off Carpet- Desert with a custom inset black logo and Woodker- Brown ceramic tile for the restrooms.
Other than a couple meetings with Frank Robinson, Paul Findlay and Adam Wicker, I stayed in close communication with Paul and Adam during the entire project. I worked closely with Valerie (Brewer Graphics) to design the custom vinyl for the glass, Sally LeGrand (Offices Unlimited) to arrange the furniture layout and to select the coordinating finishes, Dave Richardet (Richardet Floor Covering) to select the carpet, tile and to trouble shoot finishing issues, Chris Marchi (Ceiling Supply) to design the ceiling with sound absorption in mind, Dean Hotop (Jerry Hotop Painting) and Bob Schumer (Joseph’s Shop) to select the base, case, crown moldings, handrails and directed how to layout/install the custom built cubicles, half walls and other cabinetry.
