DoonorsChoose.org offices after Eight Inc. redesign
Eight Inc. is a leading-edge branding and design firm owned and run by Art Center alums Tim Kobe (BS 82 Environmental), who is also a college Trustee, and Wilhelm Oehl (BS 94 Product). In the fifteen years since its inception, Eight Inc. has flourished by generating iconic designs across a broad spectrum of projects and disciplines from conjuring innovative retail experiences for the Apple Store to the architectural award-winning residential developments in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
Eight Inc. (which now employs more than a few Art Center alums) has recently tackled another design solution for the greater good. In April, the firm announced it would donate design services to DonorsChoose.org to renovate its new headquarters in New York City. DonorsChoose.org is a national nonprofit that has channeled over $237 million in books, art supplies, field trips and resources to more than a million students in low-income public schools.
DonorsChoose.org transitioned from a traditional office space to a floor of a beautiful open loft building in the Garment District. In the move to a larger space, the nonprofit sought to upgrade to a more modern and sophisticated aesthetic while providing additional conference rooms, better light quality, less clutter and the ability to accommodate future growth in an effortless and uniform way.
By designing a space with minimal traditional walls, millwork display walls that dual as storage units and flexible work tables, the Eight Inc. design team was able to achieve these parameters in a simple and straightforward layout. “Eight Inc. took on DonorsChoose.org as a passion project, and they’ve had a transformative impact on our organization,” said Charles Best, Founder and CEO. “Over the last year, the Eight Inc. team has poured themselves into the creation of our space, working as artists on every detail. The result is an office that has made our team even happier, even more inspired and even more energized to help great teachers do great things for their students.”
Eight Inc.’s design concept was influenced by an iconic schoolhouse, taking the tools and forms typically found in educational spaces and reinterpreting them for the modern office. The space is intended to delight and energize staff while offering a nostalgic nod to educational tropes.
Upon entering the space, visitors are greeted by a custom oak and steel gallery wall highlighting both hand-written thank you notes and digital infographics. This gesture represents both sides of what makes DonorsChoose.org so exceptional: a resolve to leverage the benefits of technology to enhance and enable the personal, and the human interactions at the core of education.
Details referencing schools and teaching techniques are integrated into the design in a number of ways. There are chalkboard walls featuring commissioned murals, hopscotch stencils painted on the floor of the hallways, wooden storage cubbies in the gallery wall, custom floating shelves made from colorful vintage books and curated vignettes of iconic educational objects on display.
Additional details that support the unique work culture of DonorsChoose.org include the provision of ‘focus’ and ‘zen’ nooks for private conversations or tasks, a quiet room that functions dually as a maternity room, bike racks for alternative commuters and a shower in one of the private restrooms. The subtle reference to classrooms continues in the palette of natural materials and soft tones with bright pops of color, and the use of playful school-related iconography present throughout the space.
Through a joint effort, Eight Inc. collaborated with Lux Populi, a Mexico City based lighting design firm, which donated its design services to the project. Charitable donations were made by ABC Carpet & Home, American Standard, Berco, Best Buy, Birchwood Lighting, C3 Designs, Daltile, Fidelus Technologies, FilzFelt, Grainger Industrial Supply, InterfaceFLOR, Kimball Office, Pfister, Poppin, Quill Corporation, School Specialty, The Shade Store, Sherwin-Williams, Teachers School Supply, Vandersluis and Target to bring together this working ‘playground.’
“This project leaves me with nothing but pride for playing a huge part in an amazing philanthropic gift,” said Senior Designer, Alison Mann. From large-scale to small, the details in the space simultaneously evoke nostalgia for visitors’ school experience from the past and an excitement for how DonorsChoose.org is changing education for the future.
