More companies are incorporating thoughtful and functional design into their offices to foster employee productivity and communication.
“The most innovative companies are leading a major shift from viewing office space as a cost to an investment,” says Stevie Toepke, space strategist and owner of Flourish Spaces. “The right physical space is now a major driver in attracting, retaining and extracting great performance from the best talent. There is no single blueprint for the ‘right space;’ rather, a great design considers and supports function and feel.”
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NuMark features a giant collaborative workspace with touch-screen televisions, marker boards, cozy work booths, and chairs and tables that can be arranged in a variety of configurations, along with a full kitchen and bar. (Photo by Tim Buchman)
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“The space creates variety,” says Hernandez of NuMark’s hub. “It’s a third place to work — their own private little version of a coffee shop. It encourages ... coming out of your shell.” (Photo by Tim Buchman)
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Offices are located on the perimeter of the building, while the collaborative spaces were designed to be in the center. Interior glass walls allow plenty of natural light. (Photo by Tim Buchman)
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Collaborative spaces were strategically placed next to individual offices so the rooms are directly accessible and encourage working together. (Photo by Tim Buchman)
NuMark
An Altria Innovation Company
Designed by Little Diversified Architectural Consulting
When Altria launched a new subsidary, NuMark, in 2014 to develop e-vapor tobacco products, it gutted and renovated a 25,000-square-foot floor in its Richmond headquarters to support the endeavor.
DESIGNER: Luis Francisco Hernandez, director of design for Little Diversified Architectural Consulting in Arlington, has worked on interior projects for Altria for the past decade.
“The NuMark space was a bit of a departure for Altria,” says Luis Francisco Hernandez, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting’s design director, who has worked on projects for Altria for the past decade. Altria asked Hernandez to create a workspace where employees from different divisions (marketing, HR, legal, etc.) could communicate quickly and efficiently to get their new product to market in a timely manner. The NuMark space needed to meet Altria’s workplace standards while also having a distinct look and brand of its own.
Rather than a traditional workspace, NuMark was designed to give workers flexibility and a variety of postures to choose from throughout their work day — from sitting to lounging and standing — to stimulate movement and creativity.
An array of collaborative spaces that range from lounge areas to conference rooms encourage different interactions and meeting styles. Small, cozy rooms reminiscent of living rooms were created for breakout sessions and informal discussions.
Hernandez also incorporated spaces specifically to be “no-technology zones,” where workers can get away from their computers and cell phones, while other rooms are technology-focused.
Throughout the office there is a spectrum of bold colors and textures, along with a mix of décor ranging from traditional to Danish modern. “Not everyone likes the same environment, and we are giving people the opportunity to gravitate to the spaces they like,” Hernandez says. To unify the space, he used wood paneling, natural walls and carpeting throughout.
“While it looks nice aesthetically, it’s meant to be a workhorse,” Hernandez says. “It’s providing them a variety of different settings so that they can go to the place that supports their work at that moment.”
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For the REC Room’s color scheme, Lane paired soothing blues and grays with energetic orange-red accents. (Photo by Mick Anders)
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The kitchen is equipped for catering, with a sprawling stainless-steel island and double appliances. “We wanted this to bean employee kitchen but also a catering workhorse,” Lane says. (Photo by Mick Anders)
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When you first walk in, “Ready Set Go” is painted on the floor, along with an orange running track that directs participants and clients to the focus-group rooms. (Photo by Mick Anders)
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In the focus room there is a bar, made from reclaimed wooden gym floors, where clients and research participants can unwind and sip beverages. The room can be set up in a variety of arrangements, from a relaxing lounge to a more professional conference area. (Photo by Mick Anders)
The REC Room
Good Run Research & Recreation
Designed by Visible Proof
When sisters Stacy Elsbury and Sally Raderer needed a facility for their research company, Good Run Research & Recreation, they hired Visible Proof to transform the former West Broad Street auto-body shop into an airy office with plenty of collaborative work space.
DESIGNER: Kristi Lane, principal designer at Visible Proof, led the transformation of a former auto-body shop into this energetic work space that hosts focus groups for major American brands.
Good Run conducts research and coordinates focus groups for companies such as the Wrigley Company, Whole Foods, the Kellogg Company and Hillshire Brands. “The whole idea was that they wanted it to have energy and be fun for people to be in,” says Kristi Lane, principal designer at Visible Proof. “People love getting out of the office, and this space isn’t like the office they are in every day, so it makes it a special treat for them. People come from all over the country to visit this space, and we wanted it to feel like a destination.”
The almost 6,000-square-foot building, dubbed “The Rec Room,” includes spaces that range from meeting rooms to private offices. Two focus-group rooms can be combined into one large space. A large folding partition can be pulled out of the wall to divide the space, and the soundproof wall doubles as a magnetic marker board. Focus-group rooms can be changed according to the client and conversation, from a bistro setup to a living room with lounge furniture.
Off each focus room is a dimmed viewing room, where companies observe interactions and listen to commentary. Microphones and cameras for recording are integrated into the design so they blend in rather than stand out.
“Good research is about making your respondents feel comfortable,” Elsbury says. “And most of the facilities across the country are stoic and have conference rooms.”
The decorative inspiration for the space came from activities that involve movement. Elsbury wanted an energetic and engaging space that would be functional not just for the company’s employees, but also for their clients and the client’s research participants.
With that in mind, Lane created a space that involved bold colors and furniture that allows for movement — tire swings, rocking chairs, swivel chairs and furniture on wheels so that rooms can be easily reconfigured.
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Rather than gut the former auto dealership, Eastern Land Collective embraced the building’s original architectural details such as tin ceilings. The space is filled with cozy vignettes and homey furniture sourced by Childs’ wife, Kim. (Photo by Kate Magee)
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Throughout the space there’s a mix of outdoorsy and campy tchotchkes along with vintage and Midcentury furniture that gives ELC a rustic yet polished look of its own. (Photo by Kate Magee)
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Childs scored a flat file from a Virginia Beach architecture studio that was going out of business. Above the vintage filing cabinet hangs a Sentry gas station sign she found at an old junk shop. The central table is an old sewing table Childs sourced from Northern Virginia. (Photo by Kate Magee)
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While the individuals who are part of Eastern Land Collective conduct their own business in the space, clients can also use ELC as a creative agency without paying the overhead and administrative costs that traditionally come with that sort of work. (Photo by Kate Magee)
Eastern Land Collective
Designed by Kim Childs
Located along West Broad street, just down the street from C.F. Sauer Company, Eastern Land Collective is a bright and cheery collaborative workspace that opened its doors in June 2015 after moving from a warehouse in the East End.
DESIGNER: Kim Childs, wife of ELC founder Jordan Childs, gave this collaborative workspace a homey, vintage vibe drawing on inventory from her furniture business, Rare & Worthy.
The original location off Osborne Turnpike was opened in 2014 by Jordan Childs, of Shine Craft Vessel Co., and Drew Dayberry, who left the collective in 2016 to open the Roaring Pines soda fountain and shop in Union Hill.
“We both had just moved back to Richmond to start our businesses, and we needed space and couldn’t work out of our houses,” says Childs, who heads Eastern Land Collective’s Broad Street space.
While the office embraces collaborative working, it eschews the traditional co-working model. Childs shares the space with five other companies. During the day, around a dozen colleagues are the in the building, half of whom (Childs included) attended VCU Brand Center.
The space, which was an auto dealership in the 1950s and an appliance store in the 1980s, had been vacant for years. When Childs’ friend Ben Adamson of Corinthian Construction purchased the building, everything had to be brought up to code.
Rather than a full gut and renovation, they embraced the building’s bones and architectural details. They painted the beat-up tin ceiling white, filled in chipped tiles and mended a leaky skylight.
The first floor consists of an open work area with large bar-height tables that Childs made from conduit and subfloor pieces that he stained and lacquered himself. Barstools are a mix of new Danish modern and vintage perches that Childs’ wife, Kim, sourced. Kim, who owns vintage furniture business Rare & Worthy, sells to companies such as One Kings Lane.
The two-story workspace is decorated with cozy vignettes that Kim sourced and styled, adding an eclectic charm to Eastern Land Collective.
“It functions as an office,” Kim says, “but I decorate it as a home.”
Function and Feel
Space strategist Stevie Toepke of Flourish Spaces shares her tips on creating a well-balanced workspace:
OPEN VS. CLOSED Instead of opting for an open or closed workspace, consider an environment that blends the best of both worlds. Create spaces that facilitate collaboration, concentration, coaching and communicating with environmental cues such as light, noise and posture.
MORE CHOICES A sense of autonomy is one of the greatest drivers of job satisfaction. Untether employees from their desks and encourage them to use whatever space supports the work they need to do.
Toepke suggests creating an inviting space that encourages employees to build camaraderie, like Kim Childs did at Eastern Land Collective. (Photo by Kate Magee)
MOVEMENT MATTERS A study conducted by researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine found that taking a break from sitting for just two minutes every hour (walking or standing) can offset some of the long-term effects of sitting all day.
SOCIAL LANDSCAPES According to Gallup, one of the key indicators of employee engagement can be found in the statement, “I have a best friend at work.” Consider creating a space that invites and encourages employees to linger and reap the benefits of camaraderie.
COMPANY DNA Your company has its own culture, and the physical space should reveal the artifacts of that culture. The physical cues of your work culture create an opportunity to reinforce and connect people to your values, mission and identity.
