DESIGN+BUILD

Step into Leatherman Tool Group’s new workspace, where history meets the present. In this hallway, we've designed a space that not only pays tribute to their storied legacy but also extends a warm welcome back to their team. The decorated pegboard wall encapsulates their journey since 1975, a reminder of the innovation and craftsmanship that drives them forward. We're excited to share more photos with you throughout the week! SQ FT: 24800 📸: Josh Partee #GrandReveal #Workplace #Hybrid #DesignBuild #Photography #Architecture #Design #OfficeInspiration #OfficeInteriors

The video recording is here! Learn how neuroscience, workplace strategy, DEI, and design come together to create more inclusive and equitable workplaces through the built environment. #BeyondSpace #Neurodiversity

We are so proud of our team! Trust and collaboration with each other are key to project success, with our talented in-house architects, designers, and builders all aligned to deliver faster and with greater accountability. 

How do you create a “brain-healthy workplace” through the built environment using science? This article by HKS, Inc. explores how NeuroArchitecture can help employees decompress and boost productivity. The piece emphasizes incorporating a variety of areas for changing levels of focus and collaboration needs throughout the day. These 4 main spaces come with unique design and social considerations: 1. 🎯 Focus Affordance: Deep focus areas for heads-down work with minimal interactions. 2. 🧭 Exploration & Ideation Affordance (Breakout): Quick touchdown spaces for spontaneous collaboration.   3. 👥 Collaboration & Co-Creation Affordance: Places for creative brainstorming and team projects. 4. 🌟 Social Considerations Affordance: Areas for fun, non-work related banter. An excellent read for anyone curious about how neuroscience principles can enhance workplace environments by Xinqi (Evie) Guo, Cassidy E Brown, Susan Chung, and Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, SHRM-SCP, with research from Center for BrainHealth. https://lnkd.in/gmt7JJ4Q 

How can neuroscience inform the design of more inclusive and accessible workspaces? 🧠 Global Workplace Strategist Jennie Perlmutter, DEI Consultant Darcy Southwell, and NW Noggin’s Kadi Rae Smith join in a panel conversation around workplace equity, moderated by DESIGN+BUILD’s Maddy Mackin Freeman. Video coming soon. #Flexibility #Neurodiversity #UniversalDesign

In this article for Allwork.Space | FUTURE OF WORK®, Emma Ascott brings up interesting data around the current cooling of the job market. Things have definitely been changing. "The three-month average job growth in the late summer of 2020 was more than 1 million jobs per month. In stark contrast, in 2024 the average monthly job creation rate fell to 245,500." The reasons and effects of this slowdown are multi-faceted. Emma points out that general economic uncertainty, federal monetary policy, and labor supply issues like mismatches between worker skills and employer needs all play into this scenario. Much suggests that the slowdown will be temporary, with the Fed likely to rollback some its policy restraint--but the way we work is changing, likely permanently.   While the efficacy of remote work is an ongoing debate, what is clear is that companies need to invest in providing ways for their employees to work in their own style. This means that the hybrid model may yet prove to be the most durable, flexible working model. This also clearly indicates that office spaces will always be needed--but their usage must be reimagined.   While some organizations may see the shrinking job market as a time to cut costs, I believe the most successful will reinvest in their spaces, possibly downsizing or consolidating, but with far more intention behind how their spaces will be utilized. The slowing--or stabilizing--of the job market also means that employees are looking to stay at their current jobs, and will likely have demands for flexibility in those roles in order to be comfortable for the long term.   What changes in how--and where--we work do you see coming? #hybridwork #remotework #officespace #workplacestrategy

If you haven’t seen them yet–we’re excited to share renderings of Willamette University’s expansion project! 👏 The new space at Ecotrust, is located two blocks from the University’s art and design college, Pacific Northwest College of Art. It is designed to serve as a hub for graduate and professional education and to foster collaboration among those enrolled in Willamette’s top-ranked graduate programs. This includes the Willamette University School of Computing and Information Sciences, Atkinson Graduate School of Management (Willamette University MBA), PNCA, and Willamette’s College of Law. Our design introduces flexible, technology-rich environments that support productive learning and seamless collaboration, whether for remote or in-person sessions. The flex space is equipped with modular furniture that can be rearranged to serve as a general study area or presentation space, adapting to the evolving needs of students and faculty throughout the day.

Last week we unveiled our fourth annual #WorkTrendIndex report, shedding light on the way AI is already reshaping the future of work. A standout insight from the report reveals that while 79% of leaders see AI as essential to staying competitive, only 40% feel confident about their organization's strategy, indicating that businesses are struggling when it comes to crafting a sustainable, long-term AI plan.    So where do we go from here? In my latest AI at Work video, I discuss how we can move from experimentation to business breakthrough in the era of AI.     Tune in below and check out the 2024 Work Trend Index for more insights: https://lnkd.in/gVcm_vf7

🎊 Big news for Willamette University! We’re excited to get another project underway. Stay connected as we keep you in the loop with all the latest updates. Read the Portland Business Journal article here: https://lnkd.in/dW-AckNX 

In this intriguing article by Emma Ascott for Allwork.Space | FUTURE OF WORK®, she questions how AI will affect the amount of days we actually work.   There has of course been much discussion online, and in workplaces, about the four-day workweek. Some employers are hesitant or outright resistant to this idea, fearing a lessening of employee cohesion and a weakening of productivity. On the other hand, employees are resistant to returning to the office full time, seeing their more balanced work-home life as more productive.   But what if the incorporation of AI could actually wipe the routine tasks off an employee's schedule, and free them up for more important, strategic work that only a human can do? Would we even need to be in the office four days? Emma asks: what about 3 days? Bill Gates recently brought up the idea on a podcast, and it puts into question our notions of productivity and what a work week needs to look like.   As highlighted in the Robin Office Report for 2023, 75% of companies plan to reduce their office square footage in 2024. So won't reducing the days in our work week only compound this trend, and we will begin to see the mass shedding of office space? I don't think so.   You may have noticed this theme in my posts so far 😊 but I believe we will see a reimagining of office space and just what it means to utilize it effectively. Offices will remain the most important places to gather, yet when and how to gather will become more strategically thought about, not just meetings tossed on the calendar to check a box.   Just as the industrial revolution led to the establishment of the 40 hour work week, new technology (this time AI) will force us to rethink our time and our work week. While some companies may be tempted to both gain productivity with AI and still insist on a 5 day work week to further capitalize on those gains--I believe employee resistance will deter this. In the same way employees have held onto their newly gained work-life balance via remote work, I believe that employees will resist working more hours than necessary to be as productive as they currently are. Emma poses perhaps the most important question around this issue: "Can we redefine progress to accommodate increased leisure and well-being as primary goals without diminishing the importance of economic development?" This is, in my humble opinion, the crucial question. Can we make progress, as a society, and consider the human needs of our employees who power that progress? This is the balance that must be struck. Companies that thrive will be the ones who employ AI in ways that reduces work for human employees, boost human productivity by allowing focus on the most important work, and allows space for employees to make time for leisure, family, and personal goals. The companies that allow their employees the most freedom to choose, I believe, will be the companies most rewarded with employee loyalty, dedication, and high-morale.