A Random Walk: Energy for the Future s Sake

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1 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS Project Focus Plante Moran: SmithGroupJJR The organizational challenges a merger presents to two companies trying to become one management styles, hierarchical shifting, software streamlining, developing the new company identity, focus and future are unnerving to everyone from the biggest fish in the pond to the most recent hire. SmithGroupJJR s recent redesign of the Chicago offices of the recently merged accounting and tax consulting firm Plante Moran shows the impact interior design can have on the success of a merger. The design conceived a new environment that eased the transition for employees and provided a path to the future of the newly unified Plante Moran team. full story on page 3 A Random Walk: Energy for the Future s Sake A recent trip to solar panel-clad Europe and the news of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) s Fifth Assessment Report had officeinsight Publisher Bob Beck wondering what we are and should be doing in the United States to adapt to and mitigate current and future climate change problems. Interior designers, architects, manufacturers, dealers and independent reps have opportunities, in varying degrees, to help make an impact. full story on page 13 CITED: What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson O+A s Paradigm Shift In late October, Studio O+A Co-founder and Principal Primo Orpilla served as keynote speaker at Configura s CET Designer User Conference. His discussion, The Paradigm Shift, centered on Studio O+A s 10 typologies, which his firm uses to help clients understand the method to their madness. But a more design-savvy clientele and changes in employee expectations in the workplace are propelling Studio O+A into a future of highly curated, customized work environments. full story on page 17

2 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 2 OF 38 teknion trademarks of teknion corporation and/or its subsidiaries or licensed to it. in canada call 866.teknion. in the usa call 877.teknion journal

3 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 3 OF 38 Cafe Plante Moran SmithGroupJJR The organizational challenges a merger presents to two companies trying to become one are difficult but necessary steps growing businesses must take. Management styles, hierarchical shifting, software streamlining, developing the new company identity, focus and future all these things are unnerving to everyone from the biggest fish in the pond to the most recent hire. The actual physical merging of two companies into one workplace, when that happens, is the most tangible and immediately noticeable change apprehensive employees latch onto once the papers are signed. The Exterior

4 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 4 OF 38 impact interior design can have on the success of a merger is significant. It s often the first palpable indication, to both employees and customers, of how the merger will be carried out and what type of work culture and environment they should expect in their future. In 2012, accounting, audit and tax consulting giant Plante Moran merged with another firm, Blackman Kallick. The firm chose architecture and engineering firm SmithGroupJJR to redesign its space. In the original Plante Moran Chicago offices, at 10 S. Riverside Plaza, SmithGroupJJR set about conceiving a new environment that would ease the merger transition as well as provide a path to the future of the newly unified Plante Moran team. The new Plante Moran office would be home to more than 330 people, with 165 new people moving into the space as a result of the merger. In addition to the 9 th and 10 th floors, Plant Moran added the 13,000 square foot ground level floor of the building to its Ground floor (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography) space, bringing the total gross square footage to 87,000. Plante Moran wanted its employees to work more openly and collaborative- Floor Plan: 10th Floor

5 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 5 OF 38 ly in order to benefit their clients. To do this, leadership knew they needed their employees buy-in and input to help shape the workplace. We wanted people to work in a different, more open way that would be better for our clients, and we needed to give them the tools to do so, said Jeff Antaya, Chief Marketing Officer at Plante Moran. A survey told Plante Moran and SmithGroupJJR that employees: >Wanted more access to natural light; >Were open to more and varied types of collaborative workspaces; >Were willing to reduce the number and size of private offices, although they did not want hot-desking (they wanted their own defined workstations); and >Were very keen on having height adjustable workstations. Additionally, Plante Moran and SmithGroupJJR wanted to increase transparency through the design, maximize the building s exceptional city street and Chicago River views, and create a unifying brand experience for the employees to help merge the two cultures. In the new space, the ground floor acts as the beating heart of the company, featuring a gathering space with café and conference center, while the upper levels house open office space for 350 employees. Upper floor kitchenette (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography) Upper floor transition area (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography) Upper floor open office (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography) Adjustable height workstations In open office (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography)

6 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 6 OF 38 The previous floor plate of the upper floors was shaped like a racetrack, with large private offices lining the perimeter of each floor. The SmithgroupJJR team pushed these offices and conference rooms inward to the core of the floor plate and reduced the square footage allocated to enclosed offices, freeing up space for more employee access to natural daylight. 70% of the workspace is now open office, and 30% in dedicated to enclosed offices. To support Plante Moran s commitment to greater transparency, the team chose to furnish all of the offices on the interior with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. After design completion, the use of glass enjoyed positive feedback from employees, although with a request for one slight adjustment: a film was applied to the glass to preserve a level of privacy in the private offices and conference rooms. The design team also outfitted all employees with the highly soughtafter adjustable height workstations, but only after SmithGroupJJR Small collaborative area brought a few of them in ahead of time for Plante Moran employees to try out before committing to that solution. Floor plan: First floor

7 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 7 OF 38 The workstation mock-ups resulted in key design changes that we wouldn t have made, had we not done them, said Lise Newman, principal and workplace studio leader at SmithGroupJJR. We had assumed they would need more filing and storage space, but the employees reported back saying they wanted more open space in their workstations instead. It was a great way to finetune the design. The open offices on the ninth and 10 th floors feature one-person rooms/ enclaves, small 3-4 person huddle rooms, and a modest kitchenette area that encourages people to move down to the first floor café and adjacent gathering spaces. The ratio of individual and shared collaborative spaces is now 50/50. This seems to be in alignment with the research often cited in officeinsight indicating that choice of workspace types is a highly prized and important attribute of a well-designed workplace. More and more organizations are asking for more 3-4 person huddle rooms and fewer person conference rooms, said Ms. Newman. We provided a variety of spaces that employees could choose to work in. A lot of the furniture was very new for Plante Moran a lot of lively, fun, social, collaboration furniture that helped shift the paradigm of how they could work each day. The ground floor of Plante Moran is an exceptional example of a space that brings people together. It is one part townhall gathering, one part café, one part lobby/reception, and finally, one part conferencing and training center. Aside from the usual lobby, reception and meeting functions, this space enables Plante Moran employees to partake in varying degrees of work and social interactions. Employees can even hang out on a large furnished private outdoor terrace on the ground level. A lot of bustling activity is going on all the time on the first floor, said Mr. Antaya. There s a lot of productivity with the conference and training center, but also relaxing, respite-type activities, so the energy feels really vibrant and layered within the space. Previously, a story-and-a-half bank lobby consumed the ground floor Bean bag tournament on outdoor patio space. The design plan for the new street level space included an entirely new mezzanine floor nicknamed the tree house. Ms. Newman and her team designed and created a new floor structure and accompanying half-stairway, which also doubles as an informal bleacher meeting/ working space. Cafe and conferencing tree house mezzanine (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography)

8 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 8 OF 38 The tree house has conference and training rooms for Plante Moran employees. LED lighting options allow employees to dictate and customize the mood of a room. A special film on the walls of the tree house meeting rooms enables them to glow. The tree house has a powerful layering effect noticeable to everyone in or near the space. Mr. Antaya stressed Plante Moran s strong interest in engaging the community and in creating a brand experience that would entice passersby to look inside their space. We are located above a train station, and something like 80,000 people pass by our office each day. We wanted to give them a reason to look into our space and notice us. Cafe and conferencing tree house mezzanine (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography) Floor plan: First floor mezzanine

9 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 9 OF 38 The firm partnered with the Creativity in the Workplace program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) to bring in a rotating show of artwork by students at SAIC to the first floor space. A second collaboration with the Tribeca Flashpoint academy resulted in the development of nine video boards that display messages Plante Moran wants to communicate to its clients, employees and passersby on the street. Plante Moran also makes available an 18-seat executive boardroom for nonprofit organizations, community groups and associations. The bookable boardroom is available for events weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aesthetically, the firm wanted the space to reflect its roots as well as the middle-market clients it serves. The new Plante Moran is airy, bright and comfortable. SmithGroupJJR chose tiling with a blonde wood appearance and used a color palette of bright oranges, reds and greens, and the signature Plante Moran blue to cement the brand into the building s identity. Change management how to properly execute it, what the right amount is, who needs to be involved is a critical part of the design process. Streamlined change management efforts become even more critical in Bleacher seating and stairway to tree house mezzanine (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography) Conference room Conferencing tree house mezzanine (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography)

10 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 10 OF 38 a company merger situation simply because the company is already at a crossroads when the architect/interior designer comes onboard. We were very focused on bringing people into the process, said Mr. Antaya. There was such a high level of buy-in from everyone by the time they actually moved into the space. SmithGroupJJR and Plante Moran surveyed Plante Moran employees about what they wanted and needed from their workspace and respected the input. They appointed communication champions, Plante Moran employees from all levels of the company who could act as communication links between the people making the decisions and the people those decisions would ultimately affect. We have a strong national practice in workplace strategy, so we were able to guide Plante Moran in the direction of best practices, said Ms. Newman. We had many meetings in which we talked about what other corporations are doing to attract Reception (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography) talent, and the ratios of different design elements other corporations are using. We looked at other spaces together to see what they liked, and Ground floor conference room

11 GIVING VOICE TO THOSE WHO CREATE WORKPLACE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS PAGE 11 OF 38 went on several furniture visits together. We were in constant communication on every part of the design. These change management techniques ensured a smooth transition from two distinct cultures to one. By listening to employees wishes, testing furniture solutions and establishing good communication channels, management and the design team sent a strong unifying message to all employees. By providing a new and exciting space, they went a long way toward unifying the employees with their work environment. The Chicago office project now serves as a benchmark for future Plante Moran offices across the Midwest; a second facility has recently been completed in downtown Detroit. If that isn t clear evidence of success, we don t know what is. Reception from exterior (Photo: Christopher Barrett Photography) Lobby