Many companies within the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries may find that after years of use their facilities are outdated, worn down, and no longer meet the functional needs of their employees. Due to the intense pace of the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries and their rapid growth within recent years, research facilities such as labs and their resources are being used continuously, ultimately leading to their wear and depreciation. In this feature, one such example is portrayed. This specific client has lab facilities which needed to be restored and renovated in order to accommodate new workplace needs.

The primary goal of our client is to provide healthcare solutions that deliver superior options for diagnosis and treatment to clinicians and patients. In order to continue to reach such a goal efficiently and effectively their lab facilities underwent a rehabilitation that entailed systematically restoring and renovating four floors of a research laboratory building. This transition was accomplished by creating a new workspace that integrated refurbished laboratory equipment and used casework assets with new product. After a fast-paced schedule of revamping and revitalizing four floors of laboratory environments, DS&D was able to pioneer a cost efficient and operationally-effective synergy between two of their divisions for the client. By integrating DS&D Logistics with DS&D Laboratory Environments, they we able to successfully integrate existing and new product as well as implement a transparent phased schedule over a two year period.

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Roger Vincent, from the Los Angeles Times, explains how the office environments of modern day white-collar workers are drastically shrinking. He intriguingly explains how this change in corporate square footage has been brought on by many different factors that are all simultaneously playing a significant roll. These highly influential factors that have propelled businesses to reduce the square footage of work space they provide per employee include new technology, a changing corporate culture, and the ever present need to reduce spending.

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McDonalds, Apple, Microsoft; all of these companies are undoubtedly leaders in their industries.  Each and every successful business is backed by a strong recognizable brand that people can associate a product or service.  A company’s ability obtain this image to the public is the key to their success.  The easiest most effective way to build a brand is from within.  The appearance and functionality of your workplace reflects the quality of service your company has to offer. Wells Fargo, a recent client of DS&D, goes through the steps on what they did to build such an effective brand. 

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Continuing their commitment to Continuing Education, DS&D and Steelcase teamed up to present a CEU Event at DS&D’s Somerville Corporate Office on Thursday, March 10th. The one day seminar was presented from 12:00pm till 4pm finishing with a cocktail hour in the reception lobby.

The course was led by Chip McLellan of Steelcase, who is a Market Leader for Steelcase Education Solutions. Chip joined Steelcase in 1989 after more than seven years of sales and management experience.

The course details included LearnLab Environments and 21st Century Libraries as well as a tour of the facility and a media:scape presentation.

DS&D encourages architects and designers to participate in their CEU presentations and CEU program to gain necessary credits. To view and sign up for events, please visit DS&D's upcoming events page.

Talk about forward-thinking office design! Twitter, the incredibly popular social networking site, recently moved into a new space in San Francisco's SoMa district and spared no expense at providing its employees with a hip, positive and (most importantly) effective work environment.

Keeping up with global office design trendsetters such as Facebook, Red Bull and Google is no easy task, but Twitter succeeds by incorporating non-traditional elements such as a dj booth, arcade, and awesome looking custom concrete conference tables. Not surprisingly, the entire building is outfitted with Wi-Fi connectivity and the company's now world-renown bird logo.

The following are a few photos taken by actual Twitter employees. Bonus points : Pay special attention to the use of Steelcase office furniture, including the Think chair with alive-seating technology.

Our verdict? Twitter doesn't only know how to design a great looking space, they know how to create an environment that's as innovative as the online services they provide.

[via Office Design Blog]