How Did Coworkers Collaborate Before Open Concepts?

DALLAS—Spirit Realty Capital recently relocated its headquarters from Phoenix to Dallas, and City Electric Supply also moved its headquarters within Dallas, relocating from Uptown to the iconic 400 Record building (formerly the Belo Building), according to IA Interior Architects. The interior designers on the Spirit Realty project were Frances Bruns and Katie Lazarine. The interior designers on the City Electric Supply project were Bruns, David Holt and Zach Weihrich. Myosha Maston, senior job captain, was also part of the IA design team.

The Spirit Realty Capital space is located at 2727 N. Harwood St. and encompasses 26,750 square feet. Through visioning sessions and staff surveys, the design team gleaned that the end users wanted a space that encourages interdepartmental interaction in a centralized area, fosters better communication, offers sightlines to natural light, and increases productivity, collaboration and attendance.

To support these goals, the IA design team developed an open break room and multi-purpose room for staff to gather. The adjacent previously enclosed stair is now open to encourage movement and spontaneous conversations across departments. Previously separated executives are now incorporated with respective departments' working areas, all utilizing sit-to-stand desks. While executives are still located on the exterior glass walls, corner offices are now replaced with shared conferencing and collaboration spaces, and managers now utilize interior offices.

“Our new office space was designed with our workflow and very transactional nature in mind, which has improved our ability to work closely together as a more cohesive team and supports cross functional activity. Additionally, our common space, our café, has become a social and gathering location for employees to enjoy breakfast, lunch and even a quiet place to work with fabulous views of the Harwood courtyard,” Michelle Greenstreet, senior vice president, chief human resources officer, Spirit Realty, tells GlobeSt.com. “Our new space represents the heart of what we aspire to become culturally as an organization–a highly collaborative team working together to add value for our stakeholders, and enjoying the process along the way.”

The City Electric Supply space is located at 400 S. Record St. and encompasses 55,000 square feet. Key goals of the project included an abundance of natural light while keeping perimeter offices, and a space that tells the story and history of the company. Lighting goals were achieved through glass office fronts, a custom LED lighting system and integrated daylight harvesting. Key spaces include a boardroom and conference spaces, multiple collaboration zones, cafe and breakout spaces, and a company store/retail mock-up.

CES' history—starting during WWII—and story of a family-owned company is integrated into the materials and environmental graphics of the design. Reclaimed materials typically in an electric supply warehouse are used as wall and ceiling coverings, reception desks, graphic art and tables. Branding features portray the company's story and history with graphics that also act as directional signs on each floor. The new headquarters space connects field, retail and corporate employees into a central location that represents the company as a whole.

DALLAS—Spirit Realty Capital recently relocated its headquarters from Phoenix to Dallas, and City Electric Supply also moved its headquarters within Dallas, relocating from Uptown to the iconic 400 Record building (formerly the Belo Building), according to IA Interior Architects. The interior designers on the Spirit Realty project were Frances Bruns and Katie Lazarine. The interior designers on the City Electric Supply project were Bruns, David Holt and Zach Weihrich. Myosha Maston, senior job captain, was also part of the IA design team.

The Spirit Realty Capital space is located at 2727 N. Harwood St. and encompasses 26,750 square feet. Through visioning sessions and staff surveys, the design team gleaned that the end users wanted a space that encourages interdepartmental interaction in a centralized area, fosters better communication, offers sightlines to natural light, and increases productivity, collaboration and attendance.

To support these goals, the IA design team developed an open break room and multi-purpose room for staff to gather. The adjacent previously enclosed stair is now open to encourage movement and spontaneous conversations across departments. Previously separated executives are now incorporated with respective departments' working areas, all utilizing sit-to-stand desks. While executives are still located on the exterior glass walls, corner offices are now replaced with shared conferencing and collaboration spaces, and managers now utilize interior offices.

“Our new office space was designed with our workflow and very transactional nature in mind, which has improved our ability to work closely together as a more cohesive team and supports cross functional activity. Additionally, our common space, our café, has become a social and gathering location for employees to enjoy breakfast, lunch and even a quiet place to work with fabulous views of the Harwood courtyard,” Michelle Greenstreet, senior vice president, chief human resources officer, Spirit Realty, tells GlobeSt.com. “Our new space represents the heart of what we aspire to become culturally as an organization–a highly collaborative team working together to add value for our stakeholders, and enjoying the process along the way.”

The City Electric Supply space is located at 400 S. Record St. and encompasses 55,000 square feet. Key goals of the project included an abundance of natural light while keeping perimeter offices, and a space that tells the story and history of the company. Lighting goals were achieved through glass office fronts, a custom LED lighting system and integrated daylight harvesting. Key spaces include a boardroom and conference spaces, multiple collaboration zones, cafe and breakout spaces, and a company store/retail mock-up.

CES' history—starting during WWII—and story of a family-owned company is integrated into the materials and environmental graphics of the design. Reclaimed materials typically in an electric supply warehouse are used as wall and ceiling coverings, reception desks, graphic art and tables. Branding features portray the company's story and history with graphics that also act as directional signs on each floor. The new headquarters space connects field, retail and corporate employees into a central location that represents the company as a whole.