Can a building change the culture of a company? can the design of the physical environment impact the way in which we communicate? There are but a few of the questions that the project for the new IMSA headquarters analyzed and attempted to address.

Currently, the company is housed in a series of detached structures situated on a large tact of agricultural land in southern Guatemala. The configuration reinforces a separation of departments and limits the individual employee’s ability to understand his or her role within the company.

In order to reverse this condition, the new building is designed with a large open room, capable of accommodating all employees, Flexible desk arrangements create a collaborative working environment that minimizes the current hierarchy, with directors seated in open desks alongside employees. The plan also provides for a variety of work spaces, including enclosed, semi-private meeting rooms, exterior courts, open terraces, archives and reading spaces that provide a variety of work environments (both interior and exterior) for productive individual and/or collaborative work.

The overall form of the building is inspired by both vernacular and industrial building typologies seen throughout the Guatemalan countryside.