The office as a “destination”

When Michelle Hackman and her colleagues set about re-designing the space at the Falkbuilt Detroit Branch, they started with a holistic examination of the environment.

“We took a survey with all of our employees in the Detroit office and asked: ‘What do you need, what do you love, what do you hate?’ The design came from there,” says Michelle, a Revit designer at the Branch. “The pandemic and returning to the office influenced our design. We wanted to make the office more of a destination and it was really good to get all the designers together with all the best ideas.”

Those ideas became huddle rooms for collaboration, a cheerful breakroom and a Healthcare space to show clients. There’s millwork for storage, double glazed glass for acoustic performance and a cozy fireplace surrounded by exquisite FLW cladding.

“The fireplace has to be one of the best spots in the office, for sure. We’re in Michigan so it can be pretty wintery and grey—it’s been a long winter! There’s a huddle room that we use a lot and a communications pod. People love it.”

“Michelle and our design team did a fabulous job reinventing our space. Everyone from clients to our employees comment on the beautiful design and acoustic performance,” says Jennifer Henson-Pecic, who tours clients through the space regularly.

They’re “blown away” by the clean look and careful details such as how the corners meet. “They love Falkbuilt because every little detail is considered and it’s so clean and beautiful,” says Michelle. And, with Falkbuilt’s Echo technology empowering Revit in the cloud, designers across the office or across the country can work together seamlessly.

“When I have a meeting with a client, I just pull up Revit and fly through it and collaborate in that way. Being in Revit is a game changer. It gives us a lot of credibility in the industry with architecture and design firms. Being able to speak that same language has been a huge benefit.”