Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH) is a national engineering firm that designs, investigates, and rehabilitates structures, building enclosures, and materials.
Margulies Perruzzi helped SGH to update both their Boston and Waltham offices with a high-performance and sustainable workplace strategy, with open and efficient floor plans promoting collaborative, team-based work.
The open, modern design of these spaces maximizes collaboration, natural light, and operational flexibility. Both spaces have multiple and varied office resources for employees to work both independently and in teams, such as individual workstations, focused/quiet work areas, unstructured space, and collaborative workspaces with different technology resources.
The Boston office, located within the Prudential Tower, was performed under an accelerated design process; the planning and design would then inform the new 110,000 SF Waltham location
Margulies Perruzzi was tasked with providing design services for this confidential client’s cafeteria located in their Framingham, MA headquarters. Providing more than just another amenity space, the dining facility creates an experience for employees and visitors, offering a space for employee respite and informal collaboration throughout the day. With the client’s goal of bolstering the hiring and retention of top talent in mind, MP incorporated branding, state-of-the-art technology, and maximum daylight into the cafeteria to create a fun, impactful, and inspiring atmosphere. The space includes a full-service kitchen, different servery options such as salad bar, deli, and hot beverages stations, and various seating areas including an outdoor dining area for the warmer New England months.
This fast growing, San Francisco based software company acquired a Framingham company and needed to relocate and redesign their new space from afar. The open work space is set up for many different modes of collaboration while also providing quiet spaces for heads down work.
Unity Technologies wanted to bring this newly acquired company into their “family” but at the same time, not eliminate what was special about the company and its previous location. In order to make the employees feel comfortable, special care was taken to merge the cultures and branding throughout the design.
This relocation is the result of United Way reimagining how to best utilize their downtown Boston location. With so many staff working off site at events or mostly at client locations, United Way decided to relocate to a smaller, more compact suite at 9 Channel Center in South Boston. United Way partnered with Margulies Perruzzi to design a workspace that would transition the organization from assigned seating to free address, while also making the new suite more efficient.
A large conference space was designed with a moveable wall to allow the space to be used for multiple functions. It can be used as meeting space, as a large workspace for assembling member material packages, or it can be opened for use as a larger space for all-hands meetings. Compact storage is also provided nearby to streamline material assembly.
Any existing construction was retained and reused to as great an extent possible to preserve capital. A single new workstation type is used throughout the office suite in order to enhance their use by anyone. Physical separations between workstation areas were not used in order to preserve flexibility and to enhance communication.
Huddle rooms are provided in quantities to reduce conversation in the free address areas, thereby reducing crosstalk. Open space with moveable furniture is also provided that can be used for meetings or for multiple activities where flexibility is important.
Photography by Elisif Photography.
Sustainability
This project is certified LEED-Gold.
MP helped to relocate and consolidate our client’s headquarters from two existing locations to a new tower in Boston totaling over 400,000 SF on 15 floors. An extension of their move towards more open workstations, private offices are designed with all-glass fronts to increase visibility and promote interaction.
Observing that clients and visitors could be better accommodated in the new space, MP transformed the entire 31st floor into a main reception and conference center. Initially skeptical that this arrangement would result in a deserted floor, the client has been pleased by the success of the space, its continual activity and use, and most importantly the increase in meetings it has spurred.
The addition of highly equipped conference and meeting rooms in the space allows Boston staff members to easily communicate with their colleagues worldwide.
A new trading floor for the fixed-income trading group sits on a full raised floor which accommodates the extensive cabling required to power it.
The A/V requirements to support these areas was high. An operations room maintains support to the many specialized spaces like the conference floor. And the Information Technology backbone is supported by two stand-by generators along with a UPS system.
The integration of an extensive art collection was a consideration throughout the design. The desire to create maximum openness in order to take advantage of views was balanced carefully against providing appropriate wall space for hanging and viewing art.
Having outgrown their previous space, The Berkshire Group relocated to a new floor within One Beacon Street. MP was able to take advantage of the empty floor as a blank slate for creating a new, updated design approach. Previously, employees at Berkshire had been separated from each other with high wall cubicles and enclosed offices. MP created a more open office that encouraged people to intermingle and gather. The new office is clean, sophisticated, and streamlined – reflective of the types of spaces they provide their own clients.
From the entry off the elevators, guests can look directly through the reception area and a large conference room to the dramatic exterior views. The glass fronts of the conference rooms and study adjacent to reception create bright and open interior guest spaces. The staff’s focal point is a corner Club Room with views to the North End and Cambridge. Meeting spaces are scattered around the floor to provide different options, including more formal conference rooms.
The final design incorporated lining the perimeter with all-glass office fronts to maximize natural lighting. Shorter wall partitions topped with glass fins open up the space while still providing full seated privacy. Gray tones throughout the space were accented with cherry wood veneer and splashes of deeply saturated accent colors.
When this confidential client determined their existing office no longer supported their corporate goals, they seized the opportunity to create a space that represents their culture. MP designed a truly customized work environment for their 131 employees, thus increasing their productivity and efficiency. This new design enhances the firm’s collaborative and mobile culture, showcasing a refreshed and modern look to attract new recruits while also not abandoning their Boston roots.
1. Client Zones
Technology-enabled meeting spaces and waiting areas were designed with warm and jewel tone finishes coupled with rich cherry woods. LED and energy-efficient lighting is used throughout including decorative pendants with sheer bronze shades.
2. Employee Zones
Team “neighborhoods” offer private and semi-private work areas. Benching worksettings provide a unique open collaboration opportunity that offers additional flexibility. Phone booths, administrative areas, team rooms, and shared partner offices are also provided.
3. Multi-use Zones
The café is the workhorse for the firm. It was designed not only to entice mobile employees to work on-location, but also to provide a place where employees can do almost everything: socialize, collaborate, attend training sessions or lectures, or host catered events. Its aesthetic welcomes employees and clients alike.
Margulies Perruzzi helped this confidential client relocate from its Cambridge office to downtown Boston to accommodate its growing team.
To support the firm’s mission statement of serving non-profit clients, it was important for the design to focus on the people within it, as opposed to the space itself. Additionally, the firm wanted their space to relate to its headquarters in Pennsylvania, yet retain a “Boston” feel. To meet both needs, a light, neutral palette serves as an elegant backdrop, with cool tones evoking the nearby waterfront.
Offices and conference spaces are lined with glass, letting daylight fill the space. The glass enhances transparency and connections between different workspaces. A custom, hybrid ceiling design presents clean, minimal lines while still providing even illumination for the workspaces.
After designing Robinson+Cole’s 40,000 SF space in 1997, Margulies Perruzzi was once again retained to renovate their space at One Boston Place. Previously consisting of offices and conference rooms, MP transformed their space on the 26th floor into the main reception area as well as a conference center, which will accommodate larger, more public gatherings.
Due to advances in technology, there was a significant reduction in the firm’s law library since most information sourcing is now performed online. That extra space was transformed into a collaboration area. The main conference room was planned to be very large to accommodate corporate document review and signings and other large-team events. The room can be flexibly split into two ten-person meeting spaces when the full-sized space is not required.
MP also refreshed the design on the 25th floor to give it a more updated aesthetic, representing the firm’s growth and change in brand and culture.
For over a century, The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce has helped drive economic growth throughout the region while building a vibrant business community of 1,500 organizations of varying size and industry by offering strategic networking opportunities, public policy advocacy, and leadership development.
The GBCC was evaluating new office space and hired Margulies Perruzzi to assist them in weighing options for staying or relocating. A primary driver for new office space was the ability to host events in their own space and to offer touchdown workspace to their business members. The GBCC’s move dovetailed with their broader effort to reshape their image through the rollout of a new brand identity and website. The GBCC ultimately chose to relocate to a higher floor within their current building. The new space offers them increased natural light and sweeping views of the city.
The new workplace design offers the GBCC several advantages over their previous space, both for members and staff. GBCC staff can easily reconfigure the public event space to suit their event needs. By collapsing a glass wall, a corner conference room can be subdivided from the space. When an event is not in session, staff and GBCC members can use the dining area or soft-seating collaboration space. Telephone closets adjacent to the event space allow attendees to discretely step away and attend to pressing business. The furniture can be arranged for classroom style lectures, theater-style seating, or emptied for networking events.
In the office area, the GBCC’s purpose statement is prominently visible and strategically placed at a height visible above the cubicle walls. In their new space, staffers enjoy modern workstations, informal collaboration space, and sit-to-stand desks.
The GBCC’s new brand image is prominently featured throughout the new space through the incorporation of new video displays, brand colors, as well as mission, purpose, and logo wall graphics.
