County of Monterey Public Defender

Location: Salinas, CA

Year: Completed in 2018

Budget: $500,000

WMA has a standing agreement with the County of Monterey and the fast track remodel of the 2nd floor from the permit center to the Public Defenders offices was a challenge. Working with the entire team; WMA reconfigured all existing furnishings, relocated lighting, added walls and designed new internal offices so that the PD could move to the new location in less than 3 months.

The County of Monterey Public Defender’s Office consisted of a tenant improvement to the 2nd floor office. Programming requirements were to add a lobby, rearrange the existing cubicles and filing cabinets, and create some collaboration spaces. The budget was extremely limited so WMA got creative with space solutions.

Removing the old filing cabinets in the hallways opened up and brightened the space. With the fabric panels of the partitions now exposed, WMA implemented colored panels as an inexpensive yet effective way to add interest to the space. New demountable glass wall systems created new spaces such as the lobby and the conference room. Special pieces of furniture were incorporated in with the existing to give a fresh look and feel.