For the design, build and furnish team at Building Service Inc. (BSI), transforming 61,000 square feet of raw space into its new corporate headquarters was more than just another day at the office. Instead, it was a very personal, once-in-a-lifetime process and the resulting space at W222 N630 Cheaney Road in Waukesha is a dynamic Design Center that not only meets the firm’s needs as a corporate home, but also showcases BSI’s unique design perspective and award-winning talent, alongside an array of innovative products and options for working.
“The new space is really a manifestation of who we are, as well as our long-standing design principles,” said Peter Kordus, president and chief operating officer at BSI. “The process of designing, building and furnishing our new space helped us clarify what we’ve been practicing with clients for years – we believe functional office space requires attention to 10 key elements.”
These 10 elements define what BSI has introduced as its Productivity Based Design™ (PBD) approach. According to Kordus, PBD is a balanced, people-centered approach to planning office environments that will increase a company’s effectiveness by linking great design directly to desired business outcomes.
“An office designed around the principles of PBD will foster creativity, innovation and productivity and support company culture and brand manifestation, which will, in turn, increase employee job satisfaction and retention, as well as help attract top employees,” Kordus said. “Our new headquarters brings these ideas to life.”
Inspiring, flexible and connected to nature – by design
According to the principles of PBD, highly functional office environments inspire those who work there. “Employee engagement is strongly affected by the environment in which they work,” said Kordus. “Spaces that are welcoming and have a great aesthetic motivate individuals to come to, and stay at, the office.”
To create a welcoming, aesthetically-inspiring environment in its own space, the BSI team used a variety of materials, colors and textures throughout. With 54 different light fixtures, 32 floor treatments, 28 decorative wall finishes and furnishings from 30 furniture manufacturers, the space not only stimulates creativity and conveys BSI’s innovative perspective, but also serves as a very practical resource for clients who can see and experience a myriad of products under one roof.
In addition to invigorating employees, PBD holds that effective office design must provide flexibility, balancing space for individual concentration with areas for team collaboration. “The research suggests that workers spend 54% of their day in what we call “heads down” work where concentration is key and another 24% of their time collaborating,” said Kordus. “In a functional design then, the ratio should be approximately three individual spaces for every one collaborative area.”
To accommodate individual and team needs, the new BSI floor plan incorporates a variety of work space. Individual work space includes both private offices and systems furnishings. Several “campsites” or small offices with doors are also available for anyone needing additional privacy or quiet.
Collaborative areas include a flexible assortment of enclosed and open spaces of various sizes to meet a diversity of needs. The “traditional” large conference room includes multiple seating arrangements to facilitate large group meetings, as well as more intimate break-out sessions. Six smaller rooms accommodate numerous meeting styles with an array of furnishings and work tools. Two work-lounge areas replace one centralized lunch room and provide additional venues for scheduled and spontaneous meetings in an almost coffee shop atmosphere. Creative use of open space and multifunctional furniture such as large, counter-height storage units adjacent to personal work spaces and in the resource library also provide locations for informal meetings.
Use of the right acoustical controls helps support the balance of concentration and collaborative space and enhances employee comfort. The new BSI space incorporates a Lencore sound masking system, which raises the ambient background sound in the environment by introducing a gentle noise. In addition, BSI’s space features 12 different ceiling treatments using high noise reduction coefficient ceiling tiles so clients can both see and hear what’s possible in acoustical control.
BSI’s new floor plan also incorporates elements of biophilic design, another key element in PBD. “Research suggests there is an undeniable link between better health, higher job satisfaction and increased productivity in offices where there is a connection to nature,” said Kordus. To create that connection, BSI moved hard-walled offices into the building core wherever possible leaving windows available to share the light with the entire floor plan. Glass walls throughout also increase access to natural light and a connection to the world outside.
Further, attention to details like HVAC integration increase comfort by maintaining optimal temperature, superior air quality and proper ventilation. “Research suggests that all of these factors impact productivity,” said Kordus.
Space includes the right tools to get the job done
“In addition to providing the optimal space for working, our people-centered approach focuses on giving employees the proper tools,” said Kordus. This includes the right furniture, lighting and access to technology to support multiple and varied tasks performed throughout the day.
Furniture systems in BSI’s new space feature lowered surrounding walls with glass windows to accommodate visual privacy while filtering natural light into the space. Sliding glass doors on furniture systems and private offices accommodate those whose job function requires more privacy.
Private offices serve dual purpose as mini showrooms highlighting a diversity of inventive furnishings including multifunctional pieces like height-adjustable desks and surfaces that double as conference tables along with dual-function storage/seating units. Demountable glass wall panels balance privacy with the feel of openness and accessibility while showcasing an infinite range of finishes and materials and providing long-term floor plan flexibility.
Proper lighting also supports productivity and functional office space and balances the quantity and quality of light. The BSI team worked with Tracie Losch, certified lighting designer at BSI to enhance the overall lighting design and also to ensure uniform glare-free zones were included in the layout. As a result, the BSI space includes flexible, individually controlled lighting within workstations to optimize task lighting, and solar-controlled shades on the outer windows that automatically balance natural light within the space throughout the day.
For today’s largely knowledge-based workforce, technology is vital to maintaining productivity and encouraging innovation, so effective office design needs to support access to ever-changing business tools. BSI thoughtfully designed its large conference room to accommodate the acoustics, sight lines and microphone placement necessary for video conferencing. A large flat screen was also included so electronic collaboration tools like Click-Share can be easily utilized, while network cabling and power sources were planned to support technology access throughout the building.
PBD ties disparate elements together to ensure health and cost-effectiveness
Ultimately, to be truly successful, a functional office space combines all of the disparate elements of PBD design into one whole that is ergonomically sound and cost-effective in both build-out and throughout its life-cycle.
BSI ties together design, build and furnish plans with input from Lynn Wagner, occupational therapist at BSI, who specializes in evaluating and improving the physical and psycho-social environment of the corporate workplace down to the individual level. As an accredited healthcare resource specialist, Wagner also helps BSI’s health care clients understand how to make design choices that will help improve facility outcomes.
Additionally, BSI value-engineers every project in the design phase substituting similar materials to lower costs without compromising quality or original design intent, and its own project was no exception. The BSI team utilized flexible, sustainable and energy-efficient products throughout culminating in a functional space that is unmistakably its own.
