Stories

"Coming Soon" is Now Here

Discovery reinvented

It is no surprise to see a massive neon sign for the Broadway motel hanging from the ceiling, to see a retro scooter as part of the office décor, or that some early century posters are adding a splash of color to the walls, and that the room’s silence is broken by music that mixes in with the absorbing design conversations.

Bjorksten's Discovery space was going to be a departure from the other parts of the building.

The dust has just barely settled from the construction of this new addition to the Bjorksten building. Once the bright orange paint had dried, the designers didn’t wait long to move in and do what they do best, be creative. It was evident immediately that the Discovery space was going to be a departure from the reasoned methodological aesthetics found in other parts of the building. A spontaneous transformation was underway when our designers started to bring in inspiring design pieces that had previously decorated their homes and other locals.

The new Discovery area houses research and industrial design. It was developed as an open space to facilitate dialog; a space, where minds can creatively interact even if this means occasionally calling out ideas to the other side of the room. This addition was meant to inspire the pursuit of new discoveries. The one defined space is the Discovery library. Chairs invite people to relax, read the newly arrived magazines or do project research utilizing the archive or library internet. If you want to get messy, there is space to cut pictures from magazines to create inspirational collages on the walls, or quickly mark up concept ideas. Of course we have numerous Wacom tablets if that is what you need to get your creativity flowing. The library is partitioned from the rest of the room by shelves that are filled with resource books, boxes that store miscellaneous material samples and other objects that one individual or another found to be inspirational. These shelves are more like a screen versus a solid wall, which maintains the transparency of the room.

Continuing conversations in the media suggest office space design can influence innovation and creative work. We certainly see our space generating this effect. Jim Frater, president of Bjorksten, shared his vision, “This is a motivating and inspirational space. We wish to demonstrate to our clients that we can break out of traditional roots”. We are looking not only to inspire the entire company, but to also generate an energizing, welcoming environment to share with our clients. What is wonderful about Bjorksten’s success is that as we grow we can shed old skin. We can evolve and continually remain fresh.