outside

The latest milestone in the company’s rapid rise, the completion of phase one of the 10x Genomics campus project is marked by the opening of its new 150,000-square-foot facility. Surrounding the modern office and lab complex, a variety of thoughtfully designed outdoor plaza and pedestrian spaces bring different aspects of the workday outside. Compositions of Parallel 42 and Generation 50 benches offer places to have lunch, a casual conversation, and a connection to nature, while a customized Upfit structure is the hub for productivity outdoors. The workspace is framed in custom, Ipe wood slatted panels and sheltered by the Upfit's weather-sensing automated roof louvers. Inside, inline bar-height seating joins Chipman stools and GO OutdoorTables with integrated device charging to ensure the space is always ready for the task at hand. Throughout the campus, Motive area lights play a leading role creating site identity, with their sleek, modern design complementing the contemporary façades and reinforcing a narrative of science and innovation.

The company has recently doubled their workforce, and as part of this increase in business, they acquired an office building adjacent to their original building. Crown Castle brought together architectural and engineering firms to transform the existing site and the newly acquired site into a single unified campus. The resulting campus features many spaces designed to cater to the needs of the Crown Castle employees and connect them with the outdoors in their normal work days. The plaza surrounding the buildingsr features a multitude of seating options, allowing users to curate their own experience for their specific needs under the shade of native trees. The Parc Vue benches provide a space to sit alone for a quick phone call or have one-on-one discussions; the 35 Chill lounges are perfect for relaxing in the sun or shade; and the Parc Centre tables and chairs allow employees to gather for lunch or rearrange the tables for meetings. Distributed among the furniture are contemporary planters whose foliage adds color and texture to the space. In order to fully integrate the interior and exterior spaces between the plaza and the connector, the pavement pattern and Parc Centre furniture extends throughout both the plaza and the connector.

The campus and its hardscape and green space amenities serve as an anchor within the 45-acre Assembly Row mixed-used development, located in Somerville, just outside of Boston. The public/private campus is shared by 4,500 Partners HealthCare employees and visitors and residents of the Assembly Square neighborhood. The team from OJB Landscape Architecture’s Boston office created a site design with a range of formal and informal spaces that communicate their intended use  places to live, work, and play. The campus has received rave reviews from Partners HealthCare and visitors alike.

 

“Work-enabled spaces on an architectural grid are closer to the building,” explains Design Director Simon Beer with OJB Landscape Architecture. “As people move away from the building, the design opens up and becomes more organic, with a winding fitness trail and a 2.5 acre event lawn, which features a grass-stepped amphitheater. The public/private campus is truly an asset to the community of Assembly Row and Partners HealthCare.”

The park is an active place with a continuous line-up of events, including performances by the Toledo Symphony and rotating exhibits curated by the Toledo Museum of Art. And now there is the daily pedestrian traffic from the approximately 1,000 ProMedica employees who previously worked in 25 facilities spread across the city and suburbs.

 

ProMedica worked with architecture firm HKS to create a headquarters that included the restoration of a 1896 Daniel Burnham-designed steam plant, a renovation of the 1981 Brutalist style Junction Building, and construction of a multi-level parking structure. Promenade Park sits between the buildings.

 

Landscape architecture and urban planning firm MKSK worked with the city to design the park in 2013 and then redesigned it when ProMedica became its client. Within the park is a walkway that connects the parking structure at the park’s upper level to the steam plant at the lower riverfront and runs alongside a detention basin. The park’s redesign included a custom bench from Landscape Forms’ Studio 431 that provided boundary between the walkway and the detention basin and took advantage of the location’s views of the park and Maumee River.

 

“Our idea was to introduce an element that related to the performance nature of the park,” says MKSK Associate Lisl Kotheimer. “The bench created a place for people to sit and take in the activity in the park.”

 

The continuous 100-foot-long bench spans a five-percent grade change and required the expertise of Studio 431’s engineering and manufacturing teams. The bench is made of 2,600 steel and wood components assembled into 20 five-foot long sections. It required over 400 unique wood profiles with custom CNC programs and hundreds of unique formed steel components as well.

 

Beyond Promenade Park, the ProMedica campus offers employees access to outdoor spaces furnished with a mix of Landscape Forms products. A lawn area on the Maumee River, an area next to the steam plant for company events, and a roof deck and ground-level terrace are active spaces for working, relaxing, and entertaining.

An apt description of The Hub, a 275,000-square-foot, mixed-use development in Denver’s River North area (RiNo), and “one of the hippest areas not only in Denver, but in the country,” says Civitas landscape designer Jason Newsome, who, along with Civitas Principal Scott Jordan, designed The Hub South’s fourth floor terrace, coined the Break Room. The outdoor terrace’s 15,000 square feet is the focal point and gathering spot in this growing development. A second building, The Hub North, will open in the fall of 2020. People working in both buildings will share the terrace amenity.

 

The Hub owner Beacon Capital Partners sees the development as a powerful retention and attraction tool for its tenants. “RiNo is an area where people are going to want to work. It offers a lifestyle that employees are looking for,” says Newsome. The area has a strong art scene, lots of breweries, distilleries, and shopping boutiques. And the development is next to a rail station, easing commutes and connecting the Hub to downtown Denver and the airport.

 

“Today’s generation of employees is looking for more,” says Jordan. “Life is tied to work. A lot of social outlets come through work. The Hub concept offers people working for different companies an opportunity to engage with others throughout the building. The design enables social intersections where people can meet and create community.”

 

Newsome and Jordan’s design incorporates landscaping that wraps around and divides portions of the deck into zones, each intended to support different activities in an outdoor space that is equal parts workplace and social space. A variety of standard and custom Landscape Forms furnishings adds to the deck’s flexibility. “The range of products gives people the ability to use different areas of the deck based on their activity or mood,” says Landscape Forms’ Vivian Kovacs.

 

The Garden Room is a gathering zone. Long MultipliCITY tables and benches accommodate large groups for lunch or meetings or individuals commingling with others. The deck’s centerpiece is the Great Hall. Framed by vertical posts and strings of overhead lights, the Great Hall is the deck’s “main flexible space,” says Newsome. Parc Centre tables, chairs, and lounge chairs invite people to move and rearrange furniture. The Great Hall also features a row of 30-foot long, six-foot wide custom benches with fire pits in their centers from Landscape Forms’ Studio 431.

 

“The concept behind the custom benches was to introduce a substantial element that would help scale the deck with the scale of the metal and concrete building, which wraps in an L-shape around the deck,” says Newsome. “Then we started toying with the idea of winter elements. Incorporating fire pits into these benches creates a dynamic piece of furniture that is up to people’s interpretation of how they’ll use it.”

 

The concept, however, was a complicated one to turn into reality, and Civitas turned to Studio 431 to help work through the details. “We came to them with a couple hand sketches and a preliminary model, and they were able, with a little direction and a couple drawings, to really push the concept,” says Newsome. “They helped with the design and details of the bench and worked closely with us to coordinate a number of elements. They figured out how to make the benches off site and assemble and install them onsite and around a lot of structures already in place. That was a big deal and a concern for us.”

 

The bright yellow benches and fire pits introduce color and warmth that contrasts to the building’s gray tones and hard materials. “The benches became the anchor of the Great Hall, but they also became a unique focal point,” says Newsome. “It’s now a dynamic gathering space.” Tenants from multiple companies mix together on the deck, which supports the social intersections that happen in the workplace. “The long benches add to the communal feeling of the place. Bright colors are a visual cue to come out and use the space,” adds Jordan.

 

Adjacent to the Great Hall is a small alcove space outfitted with Morrison high-top tables and stools and a number of grills. Newsome describes this space as a “modern open floorplan kitchen.” It is also a popular spot at lunchtime. A bocce ball court, ping pong tables, and hammocks, all heavily used, provide respite and recreation.

 

The deck’s various zones create “an open palette to use in different ways,” says Jordan. “The intent was for people to make it their own space, to move with the sun and move depending on the activity. The range of Landscape Forms products, from long rectangular tables to small round tables, café tables, stools, and lounge seating support different activities and group sizes.”

 

The Hub South has been open for a year, and the deck has become the highlight of the building. Beyond its amazing views of the city and the mountains, the scale of the deck and unique features offer something new for tenants and employees. There is even a fun surprise in the deck’s design. The patterns and colors of the pedestal pavers form the outline of a rhino, so people looking down from the five stories above the deck see imprints of rhinos running through the Great Halla tribute to the RiNo district.

In particular, the building’s Roof Transformation Project converted its previously unsightly, inaccessible rooftop spaces into a unique asset. The resulting main terrace has become a tenant retreat and a coveted event space, offering unprecedented views of the Texas State Capitol and its grounds. With an understanding of how beneficial proximity to nature is for workplace professionals in its ability to improve health and reduce stress, the design of the space truly provides an accessible outdoor extension of the office. Parc Centre tables and chairs easily accommodate outdoor meetings, client visits, and seating for events. As more people desire connections to nature as they work, 816 Congress has become one of the most in-demand corporate spaces in Austin.

Seeing the potential to truly transform their outdoor spaces, however, CBRE shifted to seeking a complete site furnishings solution that would be appealing to a younger workforce and provide diverse outdoor settings suited not just for lunch breaks, but for outdoor meetings as well. Landscape Forms developed a furnishing plan that met these needs and more, and the project was approved. Urban Edge, Chipman, TUUCI and Morrison products have been used to create chic, functional spaces perfect for outdoor work and socializing while giving the office campus a bold and urban identity.

The "living office" concept was made and The Foundry was born. An homage to the site's use as a former gray-iron foundry and steel fabrication facility, the project's name represents its history and former productivity as well as its capacity to be molded into a reimagined form with a variety of viable and exciting uses.

 

A collaborative work space wouldn't be complete without a functional outdoor space. Landscape Forms assisted Eckert Wordell and CSM Group to reimagine how tenants would use the community space outside. GO OutdoorTables with power and charging stations, allow for a functional outdoor work space. Parc Centre lounge chairs and ottomans help tenants relax near the outdoor fire pit. Chipman tables, chairs and stools provide a comfortable place to work, dine, or relax. The Guide bollards provide a visually pleasing experience for early morning or evening hours.

 

The project is a departure from typical office space models and include an on-site dining to create a collaborative, campus-like feeling amongst its residents. With The Foundry, Treystar invites the community, visitors, and future building residents to rethink how and where they work, create, and thrive.

In moving to this location, the company’s goal was to create a space that provides employees with an exceptional work experience and activate the extensive outdoor space to allow employees to get away from their desks, recharge and rejuvenate. The site is bordered by a major freeway to the north, the Arizona State campus to the south, and incredible public parks all around. Buildings were positioned strategically to create at least 2 full acres of shade, a must-have in the Arizona climate. The entire facility was designed with what they titled a “main street concept” where the whole first level features retail, dining establishments, fitness facilities, and plentiful public parking. Movable tables and chairs near a dining facility and water features make a perfect open-air lunch spot, and benches along the main thoroughfare are a perfect place for employees to observe and relax.

The 20-acre campus, previously an office park whose outdoor spaces were dominated by surface parking and traditional lawns, was recently transformed into a pedestrian-friendly campus that allows employees of the company to work, meet, or dine comfortably outdoors as well as in. Lines between the indoor and out, buildings and site spaces were intentionally blurred to increase access to nature and fresh air for all.

In this park, the over 4,500 Well Fargo employees enjoy a variety of spaces such as an outdoor amphitheater, recreational lawn, riparian and savannah gardens, and an outdoor dining garden and terrace. The landscape architecture firm specified Landscape Forms furnishings to provide quality crafted seating and working surfaces across the campus. In particular, the unique dining terrace employs products from our Terrace Life collection to spectacular effect. Chipman chairs and tables as well as Morrison tables and stools offer generous and refined eating and meeting surfaces in harmony with the modern aesthetic of the architecture and allow employees to connect with the open air and scenic views of the surrounding prairie.