Creating a community anchor

Pen Factory revitalizes a once-dormant manufacturing facility, providing open and flexible workspaces for contemporary creative companies. In designing the adaptive reuse project, SOM looked both to the building’s first life as a PaperMate pen factory, and to the current and future needs of the community. Inspired by its location in one of Santa Monica’s most active areas for creative offices, the renovation promotes an open, casual, and flexible work environment for innovative companies.

Drawing from the past and present

Colorful striations run along the concrete facade, evoking pen drawings while adding rhythm and continuity to the two low-profile buildings comprising the complex. Large openings in the facades, along with skylights and glass garage doors, draw daylight and fresh air into the offices. Throughout, concrete flooring, exposed building systems, and other design details reference the industrial heritage of the site.

To create as much outdoor space as possible and offset the heat island effect, a landscaped courtyard entrance was cut into the center of the building. A linear garden with semi-private patios runs the length of the building’s south side. Additional windows, skylights, and industrial-scaled glass garage doors bring daylight and fresh air into the workspaces. Blurring the line between outside and in, the courtyard and gardens provide alternative areas for work and relaxation and opportunities for employees to engage with each other.

Enabling easy commutes

Designed to support a positive work/life balance and promote connectivity, the LEED Gold certified project is located near the 26th St / Bergamot Station on Metro’s E Line. The building includes amenities for bicycle commuters such as a locker room with showers, and hosts an underground parking facility with capacity for 270 bikes as well as mechanically stacked parking stalls for 700 cars.