Capturing Company Culture Through Design
Highlights
Size: 44,000 sq. ft.
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Timeline: On Hold
Typologies: Commercial Architecture - New Addition - Sustainable .Design - Assembly
Setting the Scene
A rapidly growing company needed more space for new employees while maintaining its unique culture — one that values each individual as a leader. The project required an expansion that not only accommodated physical growth but reflected its people-centric values. Our goal was to design an architectural embodiment of this ethos.
Making It Happen
The building had been designed to accommodate additional floors in the future, so we expanded vertically rather than horizontally. This also meant adding a new roof, a glowing opportunity we were keen to take advantage of.
Our pick, the lamella roof, was inspired by a structural innovation from the WWII era. Its design was composed of short pieces of standard lumber that connect in special ways to form a long-span structure — an apt metaphor for individual employees coming together to achieve greatness. It made for a simple but beautiful cap to an otherwise banal building.
Our interior layout also underpinned the value of the individual and the interconnectedness of a team. Whereas the original program of small, medium and large meeting spaces suggested a compartmentalized floor plan, we maximized flexibility and openness. Movable partitions and communal spaces invited collaboration and camaraderie, and an atrium with city views served as a focal point of connection and inspiration.
