Once Ustream approved the space plan and pricing we were ready to move forward with construction!  Redesign analyzed and recorded all project costs in our overall budget form to help the client keep track of their spending throughout the project. This form allowed the team to analyze the construction cost per square foot.  Keeping this form up to date helped us determine how project costs were being allocated and make changes as required to stay within budget.

Overall Budget Form

 

 

 

 

Construction Kickoff

During the initial walk-through the contractor estimated construction would be complete in 3 weeks (minus a few items with long lead times). Once we had a finalized scope of work the contractor provided a construction schedule for the project team.  This was very helpful as the furniture dealer had to coordinate delivery and installation around the construction. Ustream was excited to start operations from their new Los Angeles office space so the move in date was set for July 6th, the first day back from the holiday weekend. Since there was a limited scope of construction and the contractor was familiar with the space I issued a single plan for construction.  The contractor forwarded this plan to all of the sub contractors making the construction process seamless.

 

Construction Plan

 

Sound-Proofing

Since the adjacent tenant uses part of their space as sound studios and this would be very distracting for Ustream, our first step was to sound isolate all demising walls in the space.  Ustream negotiated this into their lease agreement and the building’s landlord provided an allowance for the cost of the sound isolation.  We used a product called “Thermafiber” www.thermafiber.com to accomplish this.  Thermafiber is a fireproof insulation that has excellent soundproofing properties.  It’s nasty stuff to install but is cost effective and does the job. Refer to the photo below for reference.  The great thing about this product is it is made up of up to 90% of recycled content.  Once this was installed between the studs we applied an additional layer of drywall and called it a day.

 

Conference Room Glass

The other major construction item that had to be tackled was the reconfiguration of the conference room glass.  The goal was to create a larger professional looking conference room as you enter the space.  The previous tenants conference room was an awkward shape and could only seat 4 people.  Ustream wanted the ability to seat 8 so the most cost effective solution was to straighten the glass.  We reused as much of the existing glass as possible to further reduce the cost to our client.  Once the glass was reconfigured and installation was complete we removed the existing film to give the space a more open feel.  Even though the glass encroaches into the entry corridor more than before, it feels like the space is bigger now because of the natural light coming from the conference room windows.  Refer to the before and after photos below.

Conference Room Glass Before

 

Conference Room Glass After

 

Ambient Lighting & Painted Ceiling

During the initial walk-through we discussed solutions for brightening up the space.  All of the existing lighting made the office look flat and boring.  I wanted to add as much ambient light as possible.  When you light surfaces from various directions you achieve the 3-Dimensional look that makes your space pop.  See the before and after pictures below.

When adding ambient lighting, the surfaces you are lighting should be visually appealing.  In Ustream’s case the existing ceiling in the space was a light grey color and made the office look gloomy.  Since we were going to be lighting the ceiling we chose to brighten the space up a bit and paint the ceiling white.  Refer to the half painted ceiling photo below. One side of the soffit is painted white and the other side is the old grey finish.  Look how much brighter and clean the white side looks!

Light Cove Before

 

Light Cove After

 

Half Painted Ceiling

 

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