io.desk

As part of a firm-wide rebranding effort, BVH Architecture redesigned the front reception desk in their Lincoln, Nebraska studio. The goal of the project was to create a design that embodied the firm’s new brand and that also reflected the vision and emerging interests of the firm.

The completed desk consisted of over 18,000 wood and acrylic dowels that together established an implied 3D surface extending across three sides of the desk. Each of the dowels was cut to one of 25 standardized lengths and inserted into a predetermined location on the desk. Computational modeling software was used to generate the specific length and location of each dowel and to test a variety of forms prior to the final fabrication of the dowels.

While the design team was able to utilize a variety of digital fabrication technologies to fabricate the wood and acrylic dowels with relative ease, the overwhelming quantity of dowels required a collective installation effort. Ultimately, in order to install the over 5,000 linear feet of dowels required for the project, the firm enlisted the help of its entire staff as well as a number of its clients and consultant firms.

BVH staff installed all of the wood dowels over the course of two weeks. Assembly keys of six-inch square sections of the desk surface were distributed to the staff in order to facilitate this process. By using these keys or maps, staff members were able to install the appropriately-sized dowels at the correct locations, and an otherwise overwhelming process was able to be broken down into smaller sections that could be completed over a lunch hour. In total, 35 BVHers were involved in the installation of the wood dowels. The remaining acrylic dowels were etched with the names of clients and consultants and subsequently mailed out with invitations to the firm’s 50th Anniversary celebration. During this event, guests were invited to insert the acrylic dowel they had received in their invitation into the remaining holes in the surface of the desk. In this way, the ultimate completion of the design was a collective effort between multiple firms, agencies, and community organizations.

*Disclaimer, as of 2025, this desk has been removed from the Lincoln studio. Dowels WERE harmed in the process…