I still remember the excitement I felt as a young man when moving out of my parents’ place for the first time to start living in my university’s dorms. Not only did I get to escape the confines of parental supervision, but the move to an unfamiliar environment also gave me the opportunity to transform myself into something new: new style, new attitude, new living space that I could design myself.
This desire for change and a fresh new beginning isn’t limited to kids striking out into the wider world of adulthood for the first time – as people grow and change, the desire to change up their ways of life and their environment come up often. For business owners, this can mean changing up the look and feel of their offices as they move from one building to another.
This change can just be a way to freshen things up and clear out the stagnant air that may have accumulated in the previous office, or it can signal that a major shift has occurred within the company. A major step up in terms of growth, a change in the direction the business is going, new leadership; whatever the shift, a new look can be a nice visual representation for stakeholders and customers.
This was the case for one company moving into the Irvine area. A change in location needed a corresponding change for the look of the office in order to increase the impact of a new environment. In with the new, out with the old.
To facilitate this change in aesthetics, leadership determined that they couldn’t just stop at the workstations for employees, the whole thing would need to be revamped. That included conference rooms, their new collaborative bull-pen area, and individual offices.
To help facilitate these changes and design the space to accommodate current and future employees, the company contracted out to Creative Office Design, who quickly mapped out the floorplan to determine which furnishing systems would work with the new digs. After some deliberation, it was determined that Pacific Coast Furnishings Aspen Elements line would work to match the contemporary style of the company and the light color scheme of the building.
The Aspen Elements series blends together older styles of wood paneling with contemporary laminate and powder-coated steel fixtures in order to create a stylistic clash between old and new. The wood used is light in color and reminds one of rustic cabins you’d find in the mountains or forests.
The modern elements are comprised of white laminate desktops, which match the light color scheme of the rest of the office and are contrasted by the jet-black powder-coated steel fixtures. Seating for the office enhanced this contrast with pure black mesh office chairs for workstations and the black leather chairs used in the conference room.
This contrast of old and new, light and dark created an intensely modern and contemporary workspace, heightened all the more by its openness. With a central conferencing space walled entirely by clear glass and workstations separated only by a small, translucent barrier, the open concept office was clearly made with collaboration and innovation in mind.
With the office revamped in a format that clearly showcased the company’s value, their transition to the new space and onto a new path was cemented. Sometimes, all it takes to get to the next phase is a little change in scenery.
