Rockwell Customer Experience Center

Owner/Developer: Rockwell Automation Inc.
Architects: Eppstein Uhen Architects and Downstream
Contractor: Jens Construction
Costs: N/A
Completed: 2017

Stepping into the lobby of Rockwell Automation Inc.’s corporate headquarters in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood is like traveling back in time.

Fireplaces are crackling. The marble floor shines. Large leather chairs are situated next to wooden tables filled with complementary refreshments and magazines.

But if the room is symbolic of Rockwell’s iconic place in Milwaukee’s fabric, the eighth floor of the building is a nod to the future.

This summer, Rockwell opened a 22,000-square-foot Customer Experience Center.

The space, which includes a café, four completely wired conference rooms, augmented reality stations and 40 floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Milwaukee’s south and west sides, took 10 months to plan and 200 days to build.

“This is a place for customers to learn about Rockwell, but also for our employees to learn about our customers,” said Melissa Kadlec, customer and executive events meeting manager at Rockwell.

Since it opened, Rockwell has booked 31 customer meetings and more than 200 internaevents.

“We wanted to create an environment that is a different experience than PowerPoints in a conference room,” Kadlec said. “We are a technology company. The lobby is our beginning. This is our future.”