Opening the story…
STATE LIFE BUILDING 01 / DESIGN PROPOSAL
What if an existing space could become a place for the whole working day?
Enter the story01 / READ THE PLACE
Existing site / State Life Building 01THE QUESTION
At State Life Building 01, the question begins with everyday life: where can office workers pause, meet and share a meal?
The starting point is the existing setting. The proposal explores new use within an established urban building.
The starting point is the existing setting. The proposal explores new use within an established urban building.
THE EXISTING CONDITION
An existing area carries potential. Before adding anything, understand the building, its access and the spaces around it.
The source photographs document the existing condition. They are distinct from the proposed design shown in the next chapter.
The source photographs document the existing condition. They are distinct from the proposed design shown in the next chapter.
THE DESIGN INTENT
MESA’s approach brings a café and canteen into the life of the building: a new reason to arrive, linger and return.
Reuse, reimagine, reactivate. A design proposal; operating returns and completed performance are not established by these images.
Reuse, reimagine, reactivate. A design proposal; operating returns and completed performance are not established by these images.
02 / THE ARCHITECTURAL RESPONSE
01 / ARRIVAL
A legible threshold gives the café a presence in the daily movement of the city.
The frontage frames the entrance and brings the new use into view. Visualisation from the MESA concept archive.
02 / IDENTITY
The café and canteen share a clear identity while giving different rhythms of the working day their place.
The composition makes both uses readable from outside. The proposal preserves the wider institutional setting.
03 / EVERYDAY LIFE
Planting, seating and a sheltered edge turn a passage through the building into a place to stay.
Comfort and use are the architectural starting points. The image communicates design intent, not a completed project.
03 / THE INTELLIGENCE
The opportunity is architectural and operational: put underused space to work while retaining the building’s identity. The next questions concern operating costs, maintenance, servicing and a viable café model. Design gives those questions a spatial form.
REUSE. REIMAGINE. REACTIVATE.
Start with its character. Then explore its possibilities.
Begin a conversationMESA / THINKING. CLARITY. DESIGN. ADAPT. MANAGE.