An Old Mall Comes to Life as Indeed’s first Arizona Office

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Alexis Ramos
Alexis Ramos
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.

An odd space in an old retail mall gets reimagined, by Specht Architects and Corgan, into a fantastic work environment that fits Indeed’s rigorous, niche work culture.

Indeed debuted its first Arizona office – a 52,000 square foot space in Scottsdale accommodating 550 employees.

A once upscale mall, sat empty for many years. It was finally rebranded as a tech-oriented space where companies of the likes of Yelp and Weebly found their place to flourish.

Now, Indeed has helped to take on an unusual part of the old mall.  An unusual bridge-like appendage that spanned across a street had once housed a branch of the Le Cordon Bleu Cooking Academy and had a long, narrow configuration and odd window placements that made it difficult to easily convert to other uses.

When was the project completed?
2018

How much space (SF)?
52,641 sq. ft.

Was this new or renovated space?
Completely new interior within existing shell space

How many employees?
350 (max capacity)

Describe workspace types.
Open plan

What kind of meeting spaces are provided?
Interview Rooms, Collaboration Spaces, Board Room, Training Rooms, Conference Rooms

What other kinds of support space or amenity spaces are provided?
Reception, Kitchen, Dining, Coffee Bar, Gaming Area, Fitness Area, Lockers, Showers, Bike Storage, Phone Rooms, Lounge, Mother’s Room, etc.

Has the project achieved any special certifications (i.e. LEED, WELL, Living Building Challenge)?
No, it was an existing building.

What are the projects location and proximity to public transportation and/or other amenities?
In central Scottsdale, within the main entertainment/business district. Convenient transportation.

Was the “C” Suite involved in the project planning and design process? If so, how?
Yes, with all Indeed projects, the Senior Leadership is always heavily involved, reviewing layout, and especially design aspects to make sure they are consistent with what an “Indeed office” should represent.

What kind of programming or visioning activities were used?
Many rounds of blocking plans, test fits, and “look and feel” presentations that incorporated local inspiration images as well as other spatial ideas.

Were any pre-planning surveys conducted to get employee input?
Yes, stakeholders were engaged in the planning process from the beginning.

Please describe any program requirements that were unique or required any special research or design requirements.
The unique nature of this existing space, being a disused shopping mall, required a lot of research into both the zoning/code aspects of the conversion to the workspace as well as determining how an unusual variety of space types (tall and bright vs low and dark, etc.) could be used to best effect.

Was there any emphasis or requirements on programming for health and wellbeing initiatives for employees?
Yes, game rooms, a gym, meditation rooms, a barista space, nursing spaces, common dining and food service areas, private lounge workspaces, phone booths, and a host of other spaces are provided for employee well being.

Were there any special or unusual construction materials or techniques employed in the project?
Local plant materials (cactus, etc) are prominent in the space, as are materials associated with the southwest, such as rusting steel and terra cotta. Custom murals are featured on many walls.

For specific examples, please describe the product, how it was used, and if it solved any specific problem.
Rusting steel (Cor-Ten) was laser cut with lettering for graphics throughout the space.

What products or service solutions are making the biggest impact in your space?
Coordination between the space and the furnishings was critical to the project’s success.

What kind of branding elements were incorporated into the design?
Indeed in-house branding was used throughout. This includes the logo as well as key phrases and imagery developed by the company.

What is the most unique feature of the new space?
A curving, continuous skylight that was in the center of the mall became the focus of a new “main street” through the office space.

What kinds of technology products were used?
All conference and meeting areas are equipped with video conferencing capability, Video screens with custom content are highlighted at the reception area, and are distributed throughout the space.

If the company relocated to a new space, what was the most difficult aspect of the change for the employees?
Everyone loved the change from their previous, more typical office to this bright, new, colorful workplace.

How did the company communicate about the changes and moves?
There was a video made of the space and lots of opening activities.

Tell us more!
Architects: Specht Architects and Corgan
Contractor: Novo Construction

Photography courtesy of Corgan Architects

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