In today’s constantly evolving marketplace, customers want offices that can change with their needs. Flex Workspace+ is Irvine Company’s innovative solution to turnkey, fully-furnished workspaces, complete with highly-adaptable standardized design and unparalleled customer service.
Our Chicago design standard was borne out of collaboration with furniture dealer Thomas Interiors; and recently, we sat down with Marina Malone, Architecture + Design Representative at Thomas Interiors, and Maria Eppler, Business Development Manager at Herman Miller, to take a closer look at the thought process behind it all.
Scope of the Standard
“Working alongside Irvine Company and Eastlake Studio, we helped develop Irvine Company’s design standard for Chicago. The standard is a kit-of-parts, including furniture, accessories, and finishes,” explains Malone.
“As a highly-flexible furniture solution, it works across open offices and workstations, private offices, conference centers, reception areas, and lounge and amenity spaces,” she says. In addition to being the backbone of our Flex Workspace+ and speculative suites, the design standard is also an invaluable tool for customers redesigning their space.
When leasing a Flex Workspace+ suite, customers get to take advantage of this curated menu of furniture, accessories, and finishes with the help of our dedicated buildout concierge. Whether seeking a seamless move-in or a hassle-free redesign, the design standard enables just that.
The Impact of Great Design
“When creating the design standard, three main goals were top-of-mind: function, flexibility and aesthetic,” tells Malone. “In terms of function, the furniture in Irvine Company’s standard has a 12-year, multi-shift warranty to support heavy use and reconfiguration,” she says. Because each piece is utilizable in a variety of ways, furniture in the design standard is built to provide swift, strategic solutions all the while acting as a long-lasting, durable investment.
“When it comes to flexibility, we’ve learned from Herman Miller research that the amount of dedicated user space vs. collaborative space companies need varies by customer. In support of that, the furniture in Irvine Company’s design standard easily and seamlessly supports a variety of ways to work,” says Malone. “As an example: workstation desks can be moved away from a panel wall and faced towards one another to create a collaborative grouping.”
“For aesthetic: the offices include a beautiful mix of materials — glass, wood, metal, and fabric,” tells Malone. “The standard finishes are dynamic, fresh, and modern, all the while remaining neutral to complement a variety of building interiors and tenant preferences.”
With Wellness in Mind
In addition to the usual modular furniture staples like adjustable separating panels and dividers, Irvine Company’s design standard also includes free-standing, height-adjustable desks. The desks’ height-adjustability gives customers the choice to sit or stand and the freestanding functionality gives increased degrees of freedom for workspace configurations. These flexible functions are a key component of workplace wellness, from both an ergonomics standpoint as well as from a social distancing point of view.
“Overall, Irvine Company’s development of a design standard is a tremendous asset,” says Malone. “The consistency, flexibility and long-term adaptability of the standard makes it easier to customize offices for the variety of needs that businesses have in order to prosper.”
Through proactive, flexible workplace solutions centered on wellness and comfort, like our Flex Workspace+ suites and our innovative Chicago design standard, Irvine Company is committed to helping building customers Come Back with Confidence.
