Global Protection Corp HQ

When Studio J.Jih set out to transform a former dairy creamery in Lynn, Massachusetts into the new headquarters for Global Protection Corp., the design concept centered on a fundamental tension: how to create privacy and spatial definition within a vast, open industrial loft without sacrificing its scale, its light, or its character. The answer wasn't walls, but layers.

At the heart of the second-floor office environment, Cascade Architectural's Fabricoil® Coiled Wire Fabric System serves as the primary spatial divider across three sweeping curved spans totaling approximately 1,600 sq ft.

Panels measuring nearly 9-1/2 feet tall are hung at 50% fullness from custom-curved, powder-coated Steel Secura Track, tracing graceful arcs through the open floor plate to define collaborative zones and informal gathering areas without enclosing them. Pleating chains retain the intended drape and fullness when the partitions are deployed across the system's three spans which range from 28 to over 50 feet wide. Paired with Vescom acoustic sheers on a shared track system, the coiled wire fabric system adds texture and energy to the adaptive reuse workplace environment by offering a controllable dimension that sculpts the space while softening its edges, transforming the former creamery into an approachable, adaptable, and human-centric space.

The Fabricoil system's material specification reflects both the architect's vision and Cascade's in-house manufacturing capability. Created from 13-gauge aluminum wire, the large 1/2" weave is finished in a Chrome powder coat applied in-house by Cascade's experienced craftsmen for a high-quality finish. Lightweight yet visually commanding, the Fabricoil partition system's high-luster sheen at Global Protection Corp.'s new headquarters adds a shimmering, light-catching, acoustically open veil that animates with reflected color from the building's dichroic glass and clerestory windows as daylight and occupants move through the space to achieve exactly what the architect asked of it: filtering and softening light rather than blocking it.

Says J. Roc Jih, "We often see a highly renovated office that is full of design elements referencing the domestic environment, which is often in opposition to adaptability over time. For this project, our strategy became all about diaphanous surfaces that can fit the commercial office in scale, but provide a sense of domesticity through a material softness that scatters and moderates light for the work environment." Jih continues, "In an incidental, tongue-in-cheek way, the 'filters' make reference to the product itself, but it's really a way of thinking about a condition of translucency overlaid with veils of privacy in the workplace, and how to design for the different types of privacy and collaboration that might be required among co-workers."

Perhaps what distinguishes this installation most is the triple-track mounting configuration that Cascade engineered in collaboration with the Architect, J. Roc Jih, to meet their vision of a layered curtain system that pairs Fabricoil coiled wire fabric with Vescom acoustic sheers to form an independently operable partition/divider system that can be tuned from full open to varying degrees of visual and acoustic privacy on demand.

Cascade developed the mounting solution using pre-engineered steel Secura Track hardware in a unique configuration that features a double-track for carrying Fabricoil coiled wire fabric panels and a coordinated single track for the acoustic textile drapery panels – each custom-curved to the project's architectural geometry and powder-coated in the Chrome finish to match the system throughout. While curved track is a familiar capability for Cascade (always engineered bespoke to a project's specific arc requirements), here it was the mechanism that turned a flat plane of woven wire mesh into a sculptural, room-shaping gesture.

Collaborating with Studio J.Jih's innovative and creative team to bring this unique vision to life, Cascade's in-house team of technical product specialists and manufacturing experts delivered American-made coiled wire fabric and a fully coordinated mounting solution for one of the more inventive office environments of recent memory. The result is a workspace that stays open, luminous, and adaptable as the organization grows, with privacy that's available on demand rather than fixed in drywall.

Photography © Naho Kubota