One Main: A Revolution in Office Design

Revolutionizing Office Spaces with Sustainable Plywood and Numeric Command Machining

The project stands out for its unique use of sustainable plywood, all elements of which, except the glass, have been fabricated as stacked sectional elements cut from flat plywood sheets by a single 3-axis numeric command milling machine. This innovative approach not only showcases the versatility of CAD-CAM processes but also displaces the combinatorial logic of ready-made components typical of late-industrial process for a seamless and non-standard protocol of customized fabrication.

The design team, led by Mark Goulthorpe and Raphael Crespin, took inspiration from the potential for plastic control of the spatial and detail definition allowable within a fully CAD-CAM environment. The result is a design that celebrates a new formal virtuosity and a radical level of detail finesse, offering a radically streamlined protocol for the delivery of a highly crafted interior.

One Main uses sustainably forested Finnish spruce ply with non-toxic water-based glue. The project, which covers 10,000 sq ft, nested onto 1200 sheets of 1.5” thick 4ft x 12ft ply, milled locally by a single 3-axis milling machine. The design team provided the actual tooling paths, with no plans or sections, just 3D instructional files. Wastage was about 10%, pulped and recycled.

The project essentially comprises two planes - the floor and ceiling, both of which are articulated as continuous surfaces inflected by function. The curvilinearity expresses both the digital genesis and the seamless fabrication logic, with the architect providing actual machining files to the fabricator. As far as possible, the ethos was to replace typical industrial components (such as vents, door handles, etc) with articulate milled timber.

One Main faced several design challenges, including the intention to offer a reduced carbon footprint while celebrating both a new formal virtuosity and a radical level of detail finesse. The design team overcame these challenges by developing automated algorithms for generating actual milling files, passing from design to fabrication seamlessly and with high tolerances and extremely low percentages of error.

The project is a testament to the power of innovation in transforming traditional industrial processes. It not only showcases the potential of CAD-CAM design-build processes but also highlights the importance of sustainability in modern design. The design, which won the Platinum A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2016, is a testament to the power of innovation in transforming traditional industrial processes.