Abacus Wealth — Santa Monica, CA

Roof rafters from a hundred year old barn built in Kentucky are transformed into a faux “roof” in Abacus Wealth Partners’ office space thousands of miles away in Santa Monica, California.

When NBBJ Architects began work on the Abacus Wealth Partners office, themes of nature, Zen and healing were at the forefront. The architect reflected, “We wanted to create a space of nature, light, and serenity through materiality and form.”

To help achieve the design intent, NBBJ worked with 9Wood to fabricate one-of-a-kind ceiling grilles. The challenge for this boutique project: turn reclaimed White Oak rafter beams from a 19th century Kentucky barn into a one-of-a-kind suspended ceiling. The rawness of the rafters was the perfect material, according to NBBJ. “We wanted to bring that raw yet sophisticated part of nature into the space.”

Fabrication posed its own special challenges. Before milling reclaimed wood, it is critical to do metal-detection, to find fasteners and other foreign matter. If not, the saw blade certainly will! NBBJ specified a serpentine cut for each 2×6 slat. “The curves were to suggest inward movements into the lounge zones.” Fortunately, these challenges were overcome to fabricate the grilles according to spec.

The end result is a custom grille with a striking balance of elegance and rawness; large, rustic White Oak slats accented by a repeating gentle curve. It’s truly an eye-catching feature and met NBBJ’s design intent of “floating wood clouds.”