Quid Offices – San Francisco
Assembly has designed the new offices of intelligence software company Quid, located in San Francisco, California.
Language is central to the human experience whether it’s to exchange knowledge, express thought, or share beliefs. Central to Quid is their ability to analyze and organize this language and transform it into data, allowing a user to quickly tap into and extract meaning from humanity’s collective intellect. Language reflects the environment around us and, in turn, influences how we perceive that environment. Assembly wanted to transform Quid’s new space to reflect their love of words and data.
Inspired by books lining the walls of a library, the blackened walnut and brass shelves span the length of the lobby. The shelves, themselves, are filled with books, antique scientific tools, and diagrammatic patterns and drawings. “We were inspired by early inventions like microscopes and scales. We wanted pieces that were vintage but ones that were groundbreaking and revolutionary that influenced how our world functions today” says Hilary Hanhan.
With a tight budget and restraints on construction, Assembly designed a 3D sculpture, comprised simply of styrofoam and wooden dowels that hangs over a simple, custom birch plywood 30’ table. The piece depicts connecting nodes and pathways, much like a network of information.
Reinforcing upon the idea of a network of information is a dark, moody tunnel, contrasting the open, light workspaces beyond. Utilizing Quid’s software to decipher the most influential books of all time, ten books were analyzed to determine which chapter and pages best represent each one as a whole. The walls and ceiling were wheat pasted and lined with pages from those books.
Assembly highlighted Quid’s love of words with moments that evoke a response to research, read, and collaborate. What emerged was an appreciation of books and patterns, a subtle connection of space that reverberates Quid’s desire to connect people to the world’s collective intelligence.
Design: Assembly
Photography: Jasper Sanidad
