SmithGroup’s mantra is to design spaces that inspire and increase the productivity and well-being of the end-user.

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After several years of working as an interior architect surrounded by the high-rise buildings and high-power corporate types in Chicago, it’s no surprise that Angie Lee knows a thing or two about corporate and commercial workplace design. A vice president at SmithGroup – one of the largest architecture, engineering, interiors and planning firms in the United States – Lee has developed a good understanding of the impact of good design on corporate America.

Lee joined SmithGroup in August 2007 when the firm purchased AREA Design, the firm she had founded and operated since 2005. Although AREA’s revenues reached more than $1.23 million in just two years, Lee says there was always opportunity to advance. Around the same time that AREA was reveling in its success, SmithGroup was looking for opportunities in its Chicago market to gain new commercial and corporate clientele.

“Part of the move was to truly focus on the design and planning strategies for corporate and commercial clients with the focus in workplace design,” according to Lee. The acquisition also provided SmithGroup the chance to strengthen the firm’s national workplace practice by expanding the workplace studio at its Chicago office.

Client Variety
SmithGroup provides architecture, engineering, interiors and planning services, focusing on client markets such as the science and technology, learning, healthcare and workplace market sectors. These market sectors are operated as studios within the 10 offices nationwide.

“Angie is a proven leader who quickly led AREA Design to become one of Chicago’s fastest-growing designers of innovative workplace environments,” said Andy Vazzano, managing director of SmithGroup’s Chicago office, in a statement. “Her strong personal presence and analytical style has built key relationships with Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, trading firms, pharmaceutical companies and professional services firms.”

All of AREA Design’s clients made the move to SmithGroup, along with its seven-member staff. Clients include The HON Company, DDB Chicago and Exelon Corp. Workplace design is emphasized at the firm’s nine other locations, allowing the new studio to share resources, ideas, trends and ideas companywide.

Designed to Inspire
The firm’s mantra is to design projects and spaces that inspire and increase the productivity and well being of the end-user. Much like an investigative journalist works, SmithGroup says it first researches how its client operates, as well as their needs and wants.

Tools as commonplace as the Internet are helping the firm research prospective and current clients. “Research is such a huge part of business development,” Lee says. “Even before a project, we need to know everything that we can about a business, and as a design team, understand how we as design professionals can help them operationally. Ultimately, space translates into bottom line. A well-designed space will support an operation’s productivity, so we had better understand what a client’s business and philosophy is.”

New Wave
Possibly the biggest issue facing corporate and commercial interior design today is designing for several generations of workers. “Designing for a multigenerational work force is a pretty hot topic for us right now,” Lee says. Attitudes on the structure of the workday, to the floor plan of the office, to the means and methods used to communicate, are substantially different between baby boomers, Gen X and Gen Y.

According to office furniture manager Alsteel Inc., different generations have different expectations for the workplace. The baby boomer generation tends to prefer larger offices, face-to-face communication and status indicators, such as leather upholstery and wood cabinetry.

Conversely, Gen X and Gen Y enjoy collaborative space, the latest technology, open floor pans, e-mail and instant messaging, and a balance between personal rewards and group benefits. In some cases, Lee says, design standards have shifted away from the cookie-cutter office-and-cubicle setting partly because work can, and often needs to be, done remotely.

“We sometimes hear a lot about offices being anti-corporate – they don’t want that stuffy feel to them,” Lee notes. “[Clients] are not looking for that stiffness that is often tagged onto the corporate world, but they still need to maintain professionalism and impress people who come through the doors.

“A good example of this is trading firms,” she says. “They tend to employ the 20- and 30-year-olds as traders. Private offices are at a minimum with traders located in an open environment, some having 12 screens in front of them. It’s a highly energized experience.”

Such environments can also be highly creative. In most cases, Lee says, trading firms have lounges and areas for fun activities such as a game of pool. “I think that translates into corporate America and to the CFO who looks at how many dollars should be devoted to real estate,” she explains. “You don’t need the address anymore for people to be productive.”

Instead, advanced technology, open, naturally lit workspaces and finishes that are eco-friendly are being integrated into the corporate environment. “The corporate office design philosophy is evolving and is also slowly migrating away from the [baby boomer] generation of workers,” Lee explains.

Jumping In
As SmithGroup continues to develop its Chicago workplace design studio, Lee is confident that the firm will continue to be an innovator in design by leveraging its nationwide network of professionals and experiences. “We are jumping in with both feet,” she asserts.

 “We want to be able to strategize and talk about research and about those things that are most critical coming down the pipeline. In the next decade, in terms of interior design in corporate America, and in terms of the changing demographic, all of those factors are important for designers to have a good handle on.”