Case Study: Office Renovation

A Deeper LookIt is rare that a firm has the opportunity to create the ideal corporate space for itself. This project allowed this growing architectural firm to do just that. It became an opportunity to practice what we preach in creating a lean process, collaborative consensus-based design where all employees had the opportunity to impact the design.

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PROJECT OvERviEw

In this renovation project, we designed our own firm’s new headquarters on the top floor of a Philadelphia-area office building. With future flexibility firmly rooted in our design philosophy, we created a workspace with a mix of collaboration zones and private space.

Our team acted quickly starting with staff visioning sessions. Our Interiors Department led top-dot voting and empathy mapping sessions with staff to solicit input on the ideal work environment and gain consensus on layout. Desk configuration mock-ups where provided which allowed staff to vote on what features were most important in the new space. Ultimately what resulted is a large open floor plan where all staff sit together and several glass private offices. The glass partitions support firm leadership’s embracing of transparency.

CHALLENGE

After an exhaustive search for the perfect location, the space was found. Drastic changes had to be made quickly in five months to become the vision for the new era in the firm. while the previous headquarters had provided a solid working environment for over 12 years, the work environment had become a barrier to the culture of the firm with desks that were too big and divisions in the studio which made it difficult to collaborate.

SOLUTION

The primary design goal was to create a unique multi-functional space, offering a variety of workstation and group space options. The space creates a unique dynamic: an expression of our firm culture through interior architecture and de-sign. visioning/brainstorming sessions with our entire staff were held so our team could openly suggest ideas and dot-vote on design options. with all employees having a say in the design, staff moved to the new space feeling invigorated and enthused to use their inherent creativity for their own work environment.

Modernize and Upgrade

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wAll GRAPhiCs

It is crucial for designers to create “visual paths” through an environment. With the use of colors, iconography and design elements, visitors can easily recognize a space and train one’s mind with that connection of a particular space or area to navigate from one place to another. Environmental graphics, done well, can have a positive effect on brand.

Environmental graphics were designed in-house for the new space and combine keywords from our culture, colorful plays on our logo as well as icons developed specifically for the space. The icons throughout the floor represent the different conference rooms and huddle zones. These graphics help drive home the essence of the Array brand, which gives positive first impressions.

BEFORE AFTER

By placing team members in close proximity, both people and projects benefit. Daily huddle space is convenient to each team center and large monitors can be swiveled to share visual thoughts with a teammate. A boost in productivity, combined with a pal-pable sense of community has emerged. Multi-media capabilities are infused into each space – from full-wall projection and mark-up spaces to walls outfitted with whiteboard paint which can be used for anything from hand-drawing an intricate project detail be-fore it is input into Revit, to inter-office staff communication.

Click here to visit Array’s Environmental Graphics page.

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Creating a Multi-Functional Space

Special attention was paid to the materials library, designed to be shared by all staff with ample layout space as well as a light lab for creating environments which mimic our client’s facilities. While much of our library has been converted to a digital platform; layout space for samples, surfaces dedicated to creating client presenta-tion boards and a full wall for inspirational pin-up space is available and well-utilized. Our designers have ample space to work with manufacturers’ representatives, and the adjacent bistro space is well-outfitted for our reps to host learning luncheons and educa-tional seminars.

The most popular space in the office is the bistro, created for social lunches, large office meetings and open space for mock-ups and prototype development. The bistro can seat 38 in a variety of com-fortable, community-oriented seating arrangements. A 16-person stool-height farmtable is our most popular lunch spot, with adja-cent table seating that can be configured in several arrangements depending on the need. A full-length whiteboard/projection wall is utilized to announce what reps to expect throughout the week and for intea-office knowledge-sharing.

Huddles can occur almost anywhere in the firm with most walls designed as white boards. All conference space have the latest in teleconferencing and projection capabilities. Overall, the culture of the firm has dramatically changed for the better due to the new vibrant office space.

The space creates a unique dynamic: an expression of our firm’s culture through interior architecture

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EmPAThy mAPPinG

Array engaged the staff in a visioning process as a prelude to moving to the new environment. It is rare for the whole office to be able to come together around one specific project during both vision and prototyping sessions. Array took advantage of pop-ular social sharing sites such as Pinterest so staff could share inspirational photos of ideal work environments with a mix of collaborative and meeting spaces as well as areas to display and categorize finishes, meet with clients and test lighting, materials, etc. This was the time to experiment with a variety of big and out-of-the-box ideas.

Employees offered insights as to what they would like to hear, see, feel and think in an inspiring office environment. We also dis-cussed what we think our clients and resource partners should experience when visiting our space. Should the studio be filled with natural light and have workspaces that face one another? Should there be a mix of open and closed conference rooms? How best to integrate SMART technology across offices and with remote clients? Ultimately, we developed an open and energized environment, capitalizing on natural and indirect light, plentiful white walls and pops of saturated colors. Our work spaces are highly adaptable, with sit-to-stand workstations for all. The farm table is the center point of our bistro, which opens to a large rap-id-testing / prototype zone.

Our new space has views toward the Schuylkill River and nature trail and we hear the local train whistle a few times an hour. We experience our new space much like our clients do – by getting to know the new workflow, interacting with colleagues we may not have been positioned near at our previous space and feeling empowered that this talented group had a significant say in their new environment.

Who We AreaRRaY-aRCHITeCTS.COM

We Are Healthcare Architects

We are a team of architects and designers with unique backgrounds, but we all have one thing in common - we share a strong desire to use our expertise and knowledge to design solutions that will help people in moments that matter most.

This focus makes us leaders in our field. There’s a degree of compassion, empathy, and sensitivity that goes into every project that we touch. It’s designing a nurse station with sight lines to every patient. It’s building a Behavioral Health facility without corners, so that patients are safe. It’s translating the operational needs through the technical details to fine tune the lighting system in a neonatal unit so caregivers can match the lighting to each baby’s stage of development. It is a deeper understanding, honed through relationships spanning

decades.

Together, we discover optimal solutions with our clients. It is our four decades of specialization that allows for effective communication, collaboration and precision in the complex, changing world of healthcare.

Array’s Knowledge Communities

We believe strongly in sharing our expertise and knowledge with others. We invite you to explore each of our thought leaders and share your thoughts with the healthcare design community.

Click here to visit our Thoughts page.

to view our thought leadership on interior design

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