Exploring ideas that shape the places we work
NRG Energy is headquartered in the Houston Pavilions mixed-use complex in downtown Houston. Kirksey designed the 11 floors of this 262,000-sf project to ease the organizational transition of two merging companies, increase collaboration among co-workers, and successfully leverage the unique retail location for their PR efforts.
Over the past ten years, a new way of working has emerged along with people who live it every day. We call them the free radicals and, to us, they represent the future of work: they operate 24/7 through nimble, networked collaboration; they are averse to rigid hierarchies and set processes; they value career fluidity, not job security.
WWF asked Envision Design to gather a team of consultants for a sustainability charette focused on improving the overall sustainability and operational footprint of the building. The project was called \”“Beyond Platinum– because WWF was seeking innovative thinking on a long-term sustainability strategy, not simply meeting the requirements of the LEED rating system.
When it comes to the coworking movement, Loosecubes is leading the charge. Their very own “Captain Awesome,” Anthony Marinos, tells us how they came to find coworking spaces like Applicake in Krakow, Poland, to home offices like Zen Home Workspace in SF.
There’s something for everyone on Loosecubes.
Affinity Lab is its own microcosm. Its sense of community and coworking culture is so strong that an outsider (like me) who was simply passing by for thirty minutes could understand it. I was really taken with how this community just kind of formed of its own accord.
Let’s say you’re working from home regularly, isolated from all human contact, slowly turning into Jack Nicholson–â„¢s character in \”“The Shining.– So you decide to gain some social interaction and head to a coffee shop, but it’s not exactly a productive environment.
What’s a mobile worker to do?
When the American Society of Hematology (ASH) headquarters was designed by RTKL, they had no idea they ultimately would win the NAIOP MD/DC Award of Excellence in the Best Sustainable Design LEED category once the project was complete.
But marrying flexibility and sustainability to demonstrate a commitment to the changing workplace was a core component of the project.
I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing designer Matthew Smith, Principal at SquaredEye, on his role in spearheading CoWork Greenville (SC). Check out the images of CoWork Greenville (taken by Mykal McEldowney) and Matthew’s answers to my questions — all to get a peek into their modern cowork environment *and* understand the context, dynamic, and goals behind its existence.
A lot of organizations these days are consolidating their facilities in reaction to economic realities and the influence of technology on how we work. And what we’re seeing as a result is that formerly disconnected, and often diverse cultures within a single organization are being brought together under one roof — and that can be a very powerful dynamic.
That’s been the case so far with The (legendary) Washington Post, which came to us last year having several goals:
BBG-BBGM’s new office is in Empire State Building and stands as the first sustainable office in the skyscraper’s near 80-year history.
AECOM DESIGN’s Irena Savakova, LEED AP, gives us the inside scoop on how the Air National Guard Readiness Center design team built a more agile work environment for its employees.
It’s a refined “techie” space that aligns with the evolving workspace design expected of today’s modern office environment.