“We want work to be a better space than staying at home”

When principal Jim Burgess and his colleagues at Seattle’s Burgess Design started talking about how to attract employees back to the office, they thought long and hard about how people do their work.

“In the old days, you sat at your desk, and you did 10 different tasks at one desk,” says Jim. “We gave everyone their own desk, their own ‘home,’ but we created more spaces so people can get up and move around and engage with each other and work in different spaces.”

Those spaces include folding glass walls, gorgeous graphics and conference areas loaded with technology. A forest on a glass wall helps create Jim’s favourite space, they call the ‘Campfire.’ “That corner is the best space in the whole office, so we didn’t give it to anybody. The center table is red and the lights look like embers coming off the Campfire. And the Falkbuilt wall to the right, we took one of my friend’s images, who is a photographer, and we put it on.”

Falkbuilt was the logical choice for Burgess. They looked at other options for the space, but Digital Component Construction powered by Echo had the fastest schedule and best price. “We had one real estate executive come in and say it’s ‘best in class,’ and that’s a huge compliment. And we’ve had many building owners come in and want to adopt what we’re doing for their building standards.” Burgess uses their own space as a case study to help their clients think about what employees need as they head back into work.

“Covid was horrible for a lot of reasons, but it was a catalyst for how designs should be going forward,” says Jim. “We should create spaces that react to how we work, not change how we work because that’s what the space gives us. We have created spaces that give everybody their own 'home' and the flexibility to go wherever they want to work.”