A Historic Warehouse gets Reinvented As Studio BV’s New Home for Design

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Alexis Ramos
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Alexis Ramos is a Content Creator and UX Consultant at Work Design Magazine. As someone who is naturally empathetic and creative, Alexis is passionate about leveraging technology to create positive change in the world. When it comes to "work design" topics, Alexis' interests lie heavily in biophilia and user-friendly technology that help make the workplace a seamless and stress-free place to be. When she's not generating SEO-optimized, witty pieces for us, you can usually find her spending time with her rescue greyhound, Cairo.

Studio BV‘s mission to create transformational design solutions influenced their renovation of a historic warehouse that can adapt to their needs over time.

The first office for this new design firm is reflective of its mission to consistently transform. Flexible, open, transparent and hard working, the open studio embraces the warm materials of wood, steel, and brick of the historic warehouse.

The firm is collaborative in its work and the studio is designed to foster that work,” says Betsy Vohs, founder and CEO of Studio BV. “This diversity of space supports the different needs of our design teams and our clients.

Studio BV was able to apply all the research, amenities and details that they often employ for their workplace clients but customized for their needs and culture. The studio is designed to change over time. The workspace can accommodate growth with little reconfiguring to respond to the needs of the growing firm.

When was the project completed?
June 2018

How much space (SF)?
3,000 square feet

Was this new or renovated space?
Renovated space

SF per person?
(150 PSF per person)

How many employees?
We have 15 employees and room for 20

What is the average daily population?
(12)

Describe workspace types.
The studio features, sliding doors that you can pin up work on, writable glass walls, sit to stand and lounge huddle rooms, collaborative and formal conference rooms and places to focus near the studio workspace. Workspaces are open plan.

What kind of meeting spaces are provided?
Large and small conference rooms, open collaboration and lounge areas and small huddle rooms for focus work.

What other kinds of support space or amenity spaces are provided?
Large open kitchen and lounge, bar lounge and gym and showers on site.

Has the project achieved any special certifications?
The building is LEED Silver certified.

What are the projects location and proximity to public transportation and/or other amenities?
The project is 4 blocks from a major train line and on a major bus line. The neighborhood is full of great restaurants, retail spaces, coffee shops, stadiums, the river and parks, and hotels.

What kind of programming or visioning activities were used?
We thought a lot about the spaces we design for our clients to generate ideas and how we want the space to feel, and did a lot of visual research and discussion.

Was there any other kind of employee engagement activities?
Yes, town halls and presentations.

Please describe any program requirements that were unique or required any special research or design requirements.
We wanted to develop a signature brand wall that was interactive. We worked on mockups with a fabricator on a wall that has spinning, multi-colored wood blocks. These blocks can form into patterns, words and graphic textures. It’s a key component in the office.

Was there any emphasis or requirements on programming for health and wellbeing initiatives for employees?
Yes, there are standing desks in the phone rooms, access to healthy food, water, and ample areas to move throughout the office. The office has access to a shower, gym, and bike-share for exercise or transportation to meetings.

Were there any special or unusual construction materials or techniques employed in the project?
We used felt on custom wood sliding doors to pin up on. The same felt is in the conference rooms and provides acoustic and pinnable surfaces. The felt also is the backdrop to the gallery art wall. The original wood floors were restored, as were the corten columns and concrete structure. The team used natural stone and soft upholstery to counter the hard materials.

For specific examples, please describe the product, how it was used, and if it solved any specific problem.
Felt is used as a pinnable and acoustic treatment throughout the office. It’s also the surface of doors and walls.

We used an acoustic baffling panel in the ceiling to absorb sound.

What products or service solutions are making the biggest impact in your space?
The Moroso chairs, when you come in, make an impact. They are upholstered in a quilted rose-colored fabric. The Knoll Studio Richard Schultz Bar cart gets a lot of attention as well. We used lighting from a variety of manufactures, Muuto, Volker Haug, ANDlight, Lambert Fils.

What kind of branding elements were incorporated into the design?
We have a custom wood block wall that has our logo and other patterns that it makes, and custom signage outside of our space and large art program.

What is the most unique feature of the new space?
The art, wood floors and high concrete ceilings.

Are there any furnishings or spaces specifically included to promote wellness/wellbeing?
We have height adjustable worktables, a lounge chair designed to support working in a relaxed position, and task lighting all over the office.

What kinds of technology products were used?
We have large monitors in the open collaboration areas and conference rooms.

Tell us more!
Contractor: Gardner Builders
Real Estate Team: CBRE
Open Office Furniture: Watson
Custom Millwork: Artifex Millwork
Custom Signage: SDDI Sign Systems
AV: Master Technology
Ancilary Furniture: Knoll, Haworth, Herman Miller, Allsteel, Human Scale, Blu Dot, Gubi, Moroso, HBF, DWR

Photography courtesy of Corey Gaffer Photography and Jessica Stoe Photography

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