Designing the Pollinate Pitch Experience
The last few months have been massive for the team at The Good Mod, with many big new projects secured, some fully underway, and one of our largest ones to-date just completed: the conference room and pitch stage for Pollinate, a fast-growing interactive branding and advertising agency in Portland, which was just recently voted 2015 Advertising Age Northwest Small Agency of the Year.
photos by Arthur Hitchcock
Concept
The prompt was straightforward: develop lighting and a conference table to seat 15 people comfortably in a fairly small space of 21 feet by 18 feet. Goal was to provide an arena for multi-directional presentation that navigates both digital and analog work, while delivering an intriguing experience for Pollinate’s most important clients.
Taking inspiration from the energetic aesthetic of the agency, lead designer Brock Odalovich and owner-designer Spencer Staley decided to push Pollinate’s momentum to the extreme: surrounding the presenter with crystalline slabs of sheet metal visually breaking out of the ground, the design’s dramatic vortex explodes under a sci-fi inspired spotlight.
The table
The table’s major challenge was to seat that many people with enough leg room in such tight space, and identifying the need for maximum floor space for multi-directional presentation. Lead designer Brock Odalovich's solution was a horseshoe-style design with a base-less cantilever table that is sturdy and still allows for enough floor space around the presentation pit.
The base was created out of 1200 pounds of individually laser cut and hand-welded asymmetrical pieces of sheet metal. Special feat was the integral joinery in order to make the table base break down for a standard residential elevator. The tabletop iced the cake: 15 pieces of differently adjoined veneer pieces framed by oak hardwood edging visually extend the cascading facets of the steel base.
The light
Hovering above, Spencer Staley’s lighting design extends the crystalline language of the table with five individually shaped pyramidal boxes clustered into a star-shaped chandelier. Exploding into sharp angles, the 300 pound LED light piece is capped with removable shade panels covered in technical light diffusing fabric—all results of exciting new experiments in the use of materials.
"From the initial brainstorming session to the final installation we couldn’t have ask for a better experience working with The Good Mod. The creativity they brought into our showcase conference room leaves a powerful impression on our clients as they come to visit. We can’t wait to work with them on another project!"
- Laura Runkle, Pollinate
20,000 Leagues Above Average
"The human mind delights in grand conceptions of supernatural beings."
- Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870)
The Team at The Good Mod recently completed a custom and supernatural 16’ x 8’ boardroom table with a nautical theme for the AirBnB Headquarters Offices in San Francisco. The table fits into the largest of their concept conference rooms, masterfully designed by the Airbnb Environments Team, to fit the fantastical theme based on Jules Verne’s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. This was yet another wonderful collaboration with the amazing team at Airbnb.
Designed, engineered and constructed within a never-ever-heard-of turnaround time of 14 days, this largest of all meeting room tables is a handmade wonder of nature. The walnut-encased tabletop upholstered in brown leather elegantly interfaces with the circular brass inlays, referencing cartographic tables and ancient navigational tools—all while helping you connect and charge your very contemporary electronics right at your meeting table, via outlet, USB, Com port outlets that integrate with the entire conference room. The curvilinear concave rolled steel legs (700 pounds!) connect with a solid walnut mast, contributing to the look of a regal nautical vessel. With a highly cantilevered top, you feel the ship sailing in.
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| Rolled steel legs connected by walnut mast and brass hardware |
"From the very beginning, it was such a treat to collaborate with you. After presenting our ideas and inspiration—which you all were so receptive to—you were so great in helping us identify the needs for the project. Together we were able to successfully problem solve and come up with a final design that created the perfect pieces for the space. Thank you for everything—We love TGM!"
- Airbnb
Buckle Up
To complete the conference room experience with matching seating, we fully re-imagined a set of 18 vintage Castelli chairs. With new black powder coated legs, freshly restored backrests with brand new walnut veneer and new Maharam wool upholstery for the seat, these 18 stacking chairs add just the right amount of elegance and comfort to large conferences and expeditions.
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| Matte black powdercoat frame and new walnut veneer | Upholstered with premium quality Maharam wool |
Dive In
Check out process shots of the masterful table construction, upholstery and woodwork below.
THE GOOD MOD Team Design/Build
