During the transitionary times of the financial world, financial institutions are engaged in the process of diversification, differentiation and adding value to their brand and to their service. The project taken on by the client was to complete a phased rebranding of all their national branches in the United States. The rebranding transition would take approximately two years to complete and would affect the majority of branches in the Eastern half of the country. The phased rebranding of branches and offices in the Northeast took place in the Fall of 2010.
The project entailed systematically restoring and renovating four floors of a research laboratory building by creating a new workspace that integrated refurbished laboratory equipment and used casework assets with new product. Phased scheduling would facilitate the clearing of the floor plan and the removal of all casework and fume hoods via DS&D inventory management processes and procedures.
This major pharmaceutical and medical devices client is one of the most respected names in global interventional medical devices and has pioneered less invasive treatments for vascular disease used worldwide. Their recent project however, was to revitalize their office atmosphere and switch from the traditional workspace to the emerging trend of a collaborative work environment. The original designs created consisted of standard workstations that did not provide collaborative space and restricted meetings to one-on-one. With the help of DS&D, the client was able to gravitate from the traditional work style to a more contemporary style by combining Steelcase, Turnstone and Coalesse products. Re-designing a traditional setting is a challenging task that some might falter to, however, DS&D and the client were able to complete the overwhelming task in the demanding two-month window (during the holiday season), while keeping the company’s vision and budget in mind.
The New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company made its name as the financially strongest insurance carrier in the state of New Jersey by remaining reliable, local and safety oriented. With its focus on growth, NJM announced its intentions to develop a new $48 million, 146,000 square-foot facility in Hammonton, NJ. The idea was to create an environmentally friendly facility that helped them remain iconic in financial strength and diversification. With a short deadline approaching, NJM partnered with DS&D to capture their vision while incorporating a collaborative environment. DS&D understood the need to create a seamless flow of space management throughout the facility and utilized Steelcase and Coalesse products to do so. The end result left NJM with a new spectacular look and feel, while fostering warmth the appearance was meant to convey.
AvMed, an $800 million nonprofit HMO has been growing so fast and reconfiguring so frequently, employees tease that the company's name is Latin for "change." To handle skyrocketing membership, and an overcrowded headquarters campus the HMO decided to add a new building. With Steelcase's help, AvMed created a workplace where everything is changeable. Today, the HMO can make changes faster, and with far less cost, disruption and downtime than ever before. AvMed Health Plan
As a result of fantastic growth, Puerto Rico-based Universal Insurance occupied a cramped headquarters, with poorly distributed departments and a scarcity of storage. To maintain the company's reputation for outstanding service and continue its growth, executives planned a move-but it would all have to take place before the height of hurricane season just 10 months away. With the help of Steelcase, Steelcase dealer AFD, and architectural firm Sierra Cardona Ferrer, Universal engaged in collaborative space planning. Because so much of the architecture, furniture and technology was manufactured and preassembled offsite, installations could happen in parallel, rather than sequentially, as is the case with slower, traditional construction schedules. Universal Insurance
After more than 20 years of business, communication design firm Agnew Moyer Smith (AMS) was beginning to fight its space. Designed at the beginning of the computing age, the workplace didn't support current technology-or the collaboration, communication and creativity essential to the firm's work. Interior designer, Michael Fazio of Archideas used Steelcase programming surveys and other techniques to link AMS's collaborative business goals in a creative approach to planning the new space. "We took a big leap, re-engineering our workplace from top to bottom," said AMS Principal Reed Agnew. "Naturally, you'd expect a long period of adjustment. That didn't happen. We hit the ground running and haven't stopped." Agnew Moyer Smith
As baby boomers and older traditionalists (now in their 60s) delay retirement and stay on the job, they're rubbing shoulders with Generation Xers, most of whom are in their 30s, and the newest members of the office staff, the Millennials, still in their 20s. Many companies are wondering how to deal with this generational change. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Dublin, Ireland's leading professional services firm, recently opened a new headquarters that offers valuable answers. The right workplace definitely can help an organization meet these challenges, says John Hughes, an applied research consultant who led the Steelcase team for PwC's new headquarters, Spencer Dock. "So many young people are coming into PwC's workforce, and management was determined to address a key issue for these people: having easy access to more experienced people, mentors, people they can learn from." PricewaterhouseCoopers
Professional service firms that survive for over a century have learned how to change with the times. Quarles & Brady demonstrates that knowledge with a new 30,000 square-foot space in Madison, WI. The offices enjoy 360-degree views overlooking the state capitol building and the city's renowned Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, but even more impressive is what's going on inside the new space. Quarles dropped outdated traditions such as the expensive and inflexible millwork in their old offices, opting instead for a family of products from Steelcase that would work together as a furniture standard, yet allow for flexibility in the future. Quarles & Brady LLP
Smith Carter's leadership recognized the need to develop specialized and high-margin expertise to win the engagements it coveted with global organizations. But the strategy demanded changes in the way the organization interacted. Complex projects required not only integration and communication but also innovation involving cross-cutting research, learning and experimentation. The Steelcase consulting team, working closely with Smith Carter partners, then turned its attention to applying the research. Targetting ambitious organizational objectives, the new building turned many current workplace design concepts on their heads. Instead of reduced space per employee, the new building nearly doubled it to 450 sq. ft. Smith Carter
RadioShack Corporation is the nation’s most trusted consumer electronics specialty retailer. The company's knowledgeable sales associates and brand position, "You've Got Questions, We've Got Answers," support RadioShack's mission to demystify technology in every neighborhood in America. However, demystifying the company's own neighborhood -their new corporate headquarters workplace and work culture- created a lot of questions. Management knew the stakes were high. They needed to transform the culture of an 80-year old company, plan and provide for the business's strategic needs for the next 20 to 30 years, and deliver on an overall investment of $200 million. Bill Knotts, Vice President of Corporate Real Estate Operations, put it simply: "How would we get 2,300 people to understand this new workplace, feel it, know it, and move into it, and not go crazy?" How could RadioShack make sure they did it right? The Answer: the Ideas Lab. RadioShack
Resources 
AvMed Health Plan
National Bank Rebranding