Six Offices To Love

Designing an office is tricky business. There’s always the

incentive to keep costs down while using the latest technological tools.

Another key factor—boosting employee productivity and morale. How to pull all

these needs together? Gulfshore Business asked several architects to pick their

favorite offices—spaces that fulfill business needs and look good doing it.

Offering functionality with personality

Rey Pezeshkan, president of architectural Network Inc., says

his firm’s office on Fifth Avenue manages to communicate that the company is an

expert in the field of design. Integrating a sense of fun and comfort into a

functional work environment, the office projects an image that attracts

employees and clients. The office depicts not only the face of the company but

the personality as well. “We sell ideas,” he says. “Our studio exemplifies what

we do. It speaks to our concept and what we think makes a good office.”

Walking up to the second-floor office, visitors pass through

floor-to-ceiling glass doors to enter the reception area. The entire space is

sur- rounded by glass and immediately signals that Architectural Network likes

light—a lot of it. Adjustable low-voltage halogen lights hang from

strategically placed wires, accenting wall hangings and adding illumination to

the reception desk or a conference table. “Natural lighting is manmade light,

which means reduced energy bills,” says David Corban, principal with

Architectural Network. “And we’re able to diffuse this light with shades.”

High ceilings and maple floors create the look of an

industrial loft. To the right of the reception area, Pezeshkan’s office has a

glass door, which emphasizes his open-door policy. A group workspace and

conference area open to a terrace fronting Fifth Avenue, welcoming clients to

Florida’s sea breezes and allowing employees to lunch under the sun. “We try to

bring the outside inside. Studies show when workers are not exposed to outside

elements, productivity is lowered,” Corban says.

Open areas, including another conference room with a

projection screen, emphasize the importance of working as a group, encourage

idea sharing and inspire camaraderie. Wall-to-wall windows, which can open,

beckon the daylight to stimulate the creative juices. And if that doesn’t work,

employees can always head to the automatic espresso machine.

Working in the midst of history

Parker, Mudgett and Smith Architects Inc. spotlights Bonita

Springs Elementary School as a workplace that has successfully recaptured its

original look. The school was a red brick, all-in-one complex with Florida pine

hardwood floors and 12-foot arched windows when it opened in 1912. Since then,

the design changes—many for the worse—have been numerous. During the ’70s, an

8-foot acoustical ceiling cut off nearly half the windows and shrunk the

openness. The exterior was painted white, and the windows left unexposed were

cracked and broken, haphazardly patched up.

Fort Myers-based Parker, Mudgett and Smith was brought in to

restore the building to its original

splendor. Principal David Short rallied around the effort and won the school

district’s support to fund the project.

Large wood and glass double doors frame the entrance to the

administrative offices, which used to be an auditorium. The offices feature

12-foot windows and short wood interior walls that allow privacy while

capturing natural light. A free-standing screen, which is trimmed with cornice

mimicking the original crown molding, serves as a backdrop to a reception desk

in the middle of the room and contains the mechanical and electronic functions

for the front offices. The architects also brought back the wood floors after

ripping up years of old carpeting. “It was the most gruesome stuff,” says

partner Bill Mudgett.

Columns built into the walls were used initially to frame

the auditorium’s 2-foot stage and were found on the original blueprints. “The

decorative columns were masked by layers of junk dry wall,” says Mudgett, whose

firm won the Florida Preservation Award by the Florida Trust for Historical

Preservation in 1999 for its work. “We saw what the original space was and

realized not only would the beauty be restored but the space was compatible

with the administrative functions.”

One of the biggest hopes was to restore the original red

brick under the patchy white paint, but the bricks were too soft to withstand

the pressure of sandblasting. Instead, a brick-colored paint was applied with

window trim in dark green to match the original color scheme. The roof,

originally shingled, was replaced with a metal roof. The school was preserved

with a memory of the past.

A healthy transformation

Formerly a fitness center, the building housing Orthopedic

Specialists of SW Florida is a perfect example of how an existing space can

take on a different use, says Bruce Gora of Gora McGahey Associates in

Architecture Inc. In designing the medical office, Gora’s priority was

efficiency before glitz. “Then you can dictate how basic or fancy you want the

space,” he says. “When you have the layout and the facility is functional and

easy to operate, then you look to design according to what the client does.”

The adaptive re-use project entailed designing the office

out of an old, 33,000-square-foot fitness center. Gutting the building allowed

new clinical, instructional, diagnostic and physical therapy spaces to be

created. The racquetball court became the MRI imaging center. The existing pool

and locker room facilities were converted into an aqua therapy facility. A

second floor was added for exam rooms and administrative offices. A waiting

area for physical therapy doubles as an education room, featuring a projection

screen and a sloping floor with seating, making it feel more like a theater

than a sterile medical office.

Capturing natural light is a common design element that’s

also used in this elaborate medical facility. Gora took advantage of all

accessible outdoor lighting and used glass block to bring in natural light

while maintaining privacy.

When serving patients, designers must pay particular

attention to “way finding,” or orienting cues, such as lighting and color

differences in corridors and office areas, which help patients find their way

back to the waiting room. “The bottom line is to put the patient at ease,” Gora

says. “You can reduce the level of anxiety directly through design.”

Creating a creative environment

Located off congested airport-Pulling Road in Naples,

Wilson-Miller Engineering’s headquarters was built nearly 11 years ago but

exemplifies some of the principles used today in creating a warm and inviting

workplace that’s functional, too. That’s why designers Barany, Schmidt,

Summers, Weavers and Partners Inc. chose it as an area favorite.

Offering a pinwheel view from the courtyard, all offices

benefit from the native environment captured in the courtyard and the natural

lighting it extends. The resulting workspace supports Wilson-Miller’s creative,

cross-disciplinary research, proving that what’s good for people is good for

business. “Because we enclosed a courtyard, it was important to bring in

natural light. And everyone everywhere gets a view,” says chief operating

officer Fermin Diaz.

The circular layout, designed by Fort Myers-based

architecture firm Barany, Schmidt, Summers, Weavers and Partners Inc., provides

a functional work environment because employees “need light, space and an

ability to communicate,” Diaz says.

The nearly 30,000-square-foot building is nestled in a

woodsy environment on about eight acres, allowing the courtyard to be filled

with Florida vegetation. “We wanted to get as close to nature as we possibly

could,” says Diaz.

Banking on elegance

Architectural Network selects the downtown Naples branch of

Northern Trust Bank as a model of how design advancements can be blended into a

traditionally conservative work environment.

Large mahogany doors angled on the corner of Fifth Avenue

and Fourth Street South add warmth and elegance to cappuccino-colored stucco

walls. Although wood trim typically does not hold up when used in close

proximity to the beach, mahogany, often used as trim on boats, is perfect.

Large glass windows trimmed with mahogany provide ample natural light

throughout the building. “You are never in a spot where you can’t see light,”

says Sharan J. Welsh, officer of information services of Northern Trust.style="mso-spacerun: yes">

Travertine marble floors are used throughout the lobby and

other common areas. Offices are along the east side of the building with etched

glass windows for separation, affording loan officers and executives privacy.

Avoiding clutter from advertising pamphlets and other types

of brochures, the building’s corridor is reserved for fine antiques and

original artwork. Yet the aisle is still wide enough to allow for traffic flow.

“Our main concern is the comfort of our clients,” Welsh says. “We try to

separate the client from the behind-the-scenes activity. The antiques provide a

feeling of being in a living room.”

The décor also accomplishes this. In an open reception area,

a polished round table sits upon a custom-made carpet with design features that

blend with the star-shaped chandelier. The reflection of the star on the

ceiling mimics the star embroidered on the rug. The offices have dark wood

furnishings, which add richness to the setting and warm up the cool marble

floor.

On the second floor, the bank’s investment advisers work in

a team environment. A spacious room is filled with desks, which are separated

by short wood walls. This provides both privacy and access to light coming in

from windows overlooking a terrace that wraps around the building’s front and

east side. A small conference room, an auditorium opening up onto the terrace

and a full-service commercial kitchen are also on the floor. Decked out with

high-end equipment, the kitchen gives local caterers and wait-staff room to

work when clients are being entertained.

Stressing not allowed

Architect Chuck Schmidt appreciates the peaceful atmosphere

created by design at Abbey Carpets. Another space capitalizing on the natural

environment, the company’s headquarters is tucked into a wooded area in Bonita

Bay. The U-shaped building surrounds a peaceful, screened-in courtyard.