SchoolMint

SchoolMint is an education-based tech company that has offices all over the nation.  Until recently, SchoolMint was actively searching to unite the offices into one centralized Headquarter Office.  The search ended when their team partnered with the City of Lafayette and LPTFA to relocate their offices in Downtown Lafayette at LPTFA’s 319 Monroe Street Building.  The existing tenant space is a historically preserved building consisting of two adjacent warehouses and a smaller expansion from the second warehouse.  On the interior, the building’s unique features include a mezzanine space, 23’-0” high-volume spaces, and existing cranes from the original warehouse. 

The Tenant improvement for SchoolMint was focused on highlighting these unique features while maintaining the character of the space.  One challenge the design team was faced with was how to celebrate the volume of space economically, acoustically, and without closing it off visually.  The result, a key feature of the design, Interior Pergolas.  These pergolas aesthetically nod to SchoolMint’s branding motif – a mint leaf.  The pergolas are intentionally designed with diagonal bracing that interacts with the nearby bay creating the pattern found in leaf veining.    As a secondary feature and to provide some acoustic absorption, the pergolas will house custom-felt acoustic ceiling clouds in the shape of SchoolMint’s Mint Leaf.  This will give the appearance of tree canopies in the open office areas, bringing attention to the collaborative spaces within the programmed space.  Another advantage of the pergolas is to provide raceways for MEP systems above the structures.  Keeping these systems lowered keeps the upper volume of the space unobstructed and limits any systems interacting with the existing crane and exposed roof deck.