New administrative offices and a reception area for Student Services became the second site at California College of the Arts for studying the phenomena of visual perception. While the administrative offices were driven by function and efficiency, the less-defined reception area allowed for a more open-ended approach. After addressing issues of access and accessibility, the study focused on the service desk, floor, and ceiling. The service desk is the primary point of interaction between administrative staff and students. It was designed as an elongated portal through which they engage. Parallel surfaces at the top and bottom are connected by ends intentionally skewed from the staff side toward the student side, creating a ruled surface. Reflective column covers serve a dual purpose: dividing the desk into three zones—financial aid, registrar, and student records—while continuing the study of perceptual distortion through curved mirror surfaces. This torqued geometry is echoed in the juxtaposition of the elongated, pill-shaped carpet and dropped ceiling, which are set at different angles from one another. The dark gray carpet angles toward the entry door at one end of the room, while the seemingly floating ceiling angles toward the opposite end, providing students with a subtle cue about the direction of exit.