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SAN DIEGO—Construction is beginning on Makers Quarter's Block D project, a six-block work/live/play district in Downtown's East Village, and BNIM principal and architect Matthew Porecca tells GlobeSt.com it will be an interactive prototype for the workplace of the future. The BNIM-designed project is a six-story collaborative office hub with retail and restaurant on the ground floor, inspired by the neighborhood's maker spirit.

Makers Quarter is a project of development team L2HP (Lankford & Associates, HP Investors and Hensel Phelps). BNIM was one of the key design firms that created the master plan for Makers Quarter, which broke ground on its first phase in April 2016. Makers Quarter urban planner Stacey Pennington, principal of SLP Urban Planning, says of BNIM's holistic approach, “By intertwining public realm and open space, they've helped us to create an environment that appeals competitively to prospective tenants and our ethos of future workplace.”

Most office buildings are focused inward, but the BNIM team wanted Block D—the first step toward the 1 million square feet of downtown office space that will comprise Makers Quarter—to transform that convention to create dynamic office space inside a building actively engaged in its community. The team pulled service core and amenities to one side to allow for flexible spaces, cross ventilation, daylight and views. A concrete frame allows the structure to be exposed for thermal mass, providing optimum thermal comfort. Operable windows and garage doors provide fresh air and permeability. The south and west façade have a motorized screen system (this is the first such active façade in Downtown San Diego) that adjusts to time of day and time of year.