office interior design boston
i'm kalyn rothaus, and that's meat my first building project. and my first power lunch. for aslong as i can remember i've wanted to be a designer. and nowhere i am creating functional and fabulous spaces. this is myclient mark alfieri, found and chairman of brandstar. andthat's carmen, his chief
operating officer. in the firstseason i converted and old warehouse in to a high techoffice space of the future. buthow could i renovate one building without doing thebuilding next door? our hightech renovation continues as season two gets under way! welcome back to office spaces,i'm kalyn rothous and on our last episode i met with myclient mark who hired me to
begin phase two of constructionon their production facility. this time around the challengefor me is to renovate the studio while the creative team wasstill working hard. mark walkedme through the building, told me what his needs were, and ire-assembled my team of professionals to map out theconstruction timeline.anyone who's dealt with renovationsknows that no matter how prepared you are there arealmost always delays. now thatour construction timeline has
been pushed back due to a couplesmall bumps... there has beenone major bump. that's right,i'm having a baby! but firstlet's talk about what's happened since the last episode. since iknew mark needed to find space for 50 new employees and fast ifocused first on how to transform the empty warehousearea in to office spaces. buthow could i build a space like
that in such a short time framethat could also house this many employees? the answer, modular. modular construction refers tothe use of factory produced pre-engineered building units. the components are designed tothe same codes as conventionally built facilities but in afraction of the time. i calledup my friends at allied modular and sent them my plans.
then idecided to fly out to their headquarters to see how it's allmade. i got the chance to meetwith fred ketcho, president and ceo of allied modular. there is a real advantage todeciding to go with a modular building system versus typicalconstruction. typicalconstruction takes so much time, there's so many different peopleand moving parts and pieces involved and inorder to go modular i was really
interested in seeing theirfacility today because their lead time to get this projectfrom design out the door, ready to ship and deliver and installis extremely short and i wanted to see how they were doingthis. when you're dealing withpermanent construction you typically have to tear down andstart over and so there is a lot of waste, there's a lot of extracost. there's a lot of extratime so a lot of the intrinsic benefits of modular come in notjust with the design flexibility
but also in i think theproductivity and the effectiveness for theclients from a financial standpoint as well as scheduleand productivity standpoint. modular construction is not justquicker and more affordable than conventional construction, it'salso incredibly eco-friendly with little to no waste, it's asmart, sustainable and stylish solution. i would describe ourcompany as a very progressive, modular building systems companyand we are in a variety of
different markets andindustries. in terms of making abuilding green the pre-fabrication that occurs offsite is very clean. it limitsthe amount of waste, which simplifies the process onceyou're on the location. youknow you can only visualize so much when you're looking at a 2dplan but when it comes in to 3d you can really see where youwant to make changes before the structure is actually built.
then, i met with gabe andkhan who took me through a 3d model of my original design. soas you guys know i've had this challenge to convert thiswarehouse space in to an office to seat 50 people. i need a 3dmodel in order to show my clients so that they understandwhat this really looks like. youknow i've toured your facility, i'm seeing how this sort ofcomes together and it's
important for me to be able totake this back and show my client what this thing is goingto look like. with the 3d modelwe can already visualize the final project and know what it'sgoing to look like. awesome. if i'm standing on the firstfloor and i'm walking up this here? so those are the fiveupstairs, your 5 offices downstairs and then the openfloor plan in front of the
offices which is below themezzanine. there's a realbenefit in being able to see a 3d model because i can onlyvisualize so much of it in my mind looking at finishes andplans, but when i see it coming together in a 3d model it reallyallows me to make design decisions or changes orcorrections to the actual structure before it's fabricatedand cost a lot of money to build. this looks awesome.
andi really like the under side of the mezzanine. that looks reallycool open like that. you knowthis space is really for a creative team i think to make itnot like the corporate head quarters for the creatives,right? to make it much moreindustrial and funky and cool and fun. i love the brushedaluminum, i like the powder
coated steel. i think it looksreally cool with the black. onthis, we did it this way, but we can definitely add somethingelse or add to the grid ceiling and go back to the original butwe were always on the industrial theme. it's very cool, thislooks awesome guys. now thati've been able to see the 3d model i think it really capturesthe essence of my design intent.
i was really looking forward tocreate a fun, funky, industrial space and i think it really doesthat. so a real benefit is thatthey fabricate everything in house and custom and they haveall of the different components here. i mean everything happensunder this roof so it really cuts down on your lead time andallows for the manufacturing process to be quick and thenthey actually even pack it here and get it ready to go on thetrucks.
next, gabe walked methrough their factory to show me step by step the modularmanufacturing process. being100 percent custom anything that you can really dream of we cando here. after a design iscreated the aluminum that makes up the main portion of themodular structure is cut. themodular pieces are then painted, or powder coated, and placed into a heater to dry. windows andglass are created in house, as
well as doors. this is ourwindow department and here we make our own windows. anythingthat our customers request we are able to do it. it is 100percent done all here at the warehouse. electrical wiringin each unit is made to be hidden, out of site, inside themetal structure.
so all of theelectrical goes in. our wallpanels go in to this. everythingis hidden inside what we call a raceway. and it goes from herestraight over to our laminating machine. when each order iscompleted it is wrapped, packed, and ready to ship to locationfor a quick installation! these are complete orders thathave already been purchased and
they are ready to be shippedout. after the factory walkthrough, i had all of the information i needed in order tomake a decision. (music). they completed the manufacturingand then it was time for the alliedteam to install the modular unit. we will start off withunloading the truck, staging our material, laying out the floortrack and start putting up walls
for our first floor and all ofthat should happen in day one. in this space we are putting infive offices downstairs, five offices upstairs and then anentire mezzanine will be used for cubicle workspace. so itgives you a second story that is built just like our modularoffices in a matter of days instead of months like yourconventional construction. that's the great thing aboutmodular. you can always move itto your next facility or if you
need to expand you just takedown what was put up and it's re-usable. so you don't loosethat asset. it's not like yourdry wall and stick built construction. it's more than aone time use. we've been soconditioned around permanent construction that when theystart to see the possibilities and the flexibility that thisoffers them it's quite
interesting to see how the lightbulbs starts flickering with our clients and they start to seeand they start to imagine what's possible. coming up next... see how this empty space wastransformed in just a matter of days. and how one idea can sparkan explosion. we still have plenty to dobefore this office space is usable, but the initialstructure is complete.
time tocheck in on ryan, our construction operations chief,and my general go to guy. hiryan! hey darling! you needhelp lifting that? no absolutelynot, not in your condition. youlook great though. aw thanksryan! wow, look at this!
lookhow much progress you've made. wow. this is looking reallygood. yep, getting ready todrop the ceiling in there real soon. you can see we've got allof the insulation ready to go. it's a lovely pile over there(laughter) the mural, it looks awesome! it's so nice that youcan get so close to it now that
the second floor is in. notonly did this mural come out great, but it actually serves areal purpose. but instead of metelling you all about it let me just show you. take a look! getting 50 employees in to 25hundred square feet and adding a double decker floor plan made analready tight space even tighter.
so i called up my oldfriend, artist and sculptor piero manrique, who specializesin a one of a kind murals that help make small spaces feel big! after briefing piero and hispartner meg on my concept they set to work finding the perfectdesign for the brandstar wall. their inspiration? thegems in the brandstar logo. ina sense, it was a complex
project and i came out with adesign that was not so simple. it was a design that implementedmany ideas. when kalyn called usshe was talking about the large space that she was creating andthat it would be a two story mural. you do see a lot of themural that the design is very geometrical, very sharp edges. there's a lot of depth to it. the different colors representall of the different
personalities and talents andskills that are here at brandstar. the mural is socolorful and vibrant and bright that i think that it willinspire everybody who comes in to the room. for me art isvery important to inspire. it'simportant to have a connection between the viewer and the artpiece. i'm always excited justto see the interaction between
the art piece and how it reallyaffects the viewer. when wereturn, witness this walls transformation from white towow!! welcome back! what was once ablank canvas is now home to a stunning and unique master pieceby piero manrique. thesesite-specific murals encourage creativity andproductivity. now that there aremurals in each of the two
brandstar buildings - one in thecorporate office and now this one here in the productionfacility - there is a definitive campus feel. the vibrant colorsand the active explosions of geometric designs will surelyinspire the creatives who will be working here for years tocome. now that i've shown youhow we brought the walls to life, let's check out wetransformed the floors. with themodular structure built and the
second floor installed it's timeto put down flooring that can withstand a lot of wear andtear. i need something thatlooks good, helps keep noise to a minimum, and that won't needmuch maintenance. sounds like atall order! but i've found acompany that has exactly what i'm looking for! i invitedover catherine del vecchio from gerflor to discuss myclient's needs.
catherinethank you so much for being here today. it's so great to meetyou. can you talk to me a littlebit about gerflor's manufacturing process and howthey've changed overtime? wellthe big change has been the concern about sustainability. weare lucky enough that gerflor is manufactured in europe and thestandards regarding
sustainability in europe hasalways been higher and a head of the curb from the rest of theworld and also we recycle all of our manufacturing waste and theyare put in the backing of our product. so it's a continuousimprovement, a closed process of manufacturing and we are veryproud of it! gerflor is a luxuryvinyl tile manufacturer with nearly sixty designs and colorsto choose from. their commercialgrade flooring is specifically
made for high traffic areas andthe 28 millimeter wear layer means my client won't need toreplace the flooring for a long, long time. ok wow so you'vebrought a lot of products here so walk me through whatyou've brought. ok so our mostpopular products for renovation of office spacesinclude our creation click system. this is meant for quickclean renovation when you have
to keep your operation and youroffice going while workers are there so you can install it overexisting floor. so thisproduct floats over an existing floor which is great becauseit's much more sustainable and you don't have waste in the landfills, you're not spending all of your time picking out tile. the second line that a lot ofoffices go for is the line called saga two. and this isactually a tile format of lvt
with a very thick backing so itprovides some acoustical properties and comfort on thefoot, as well. and is thisalso a vinyl? it's recycledmaterial from our manufacturing plant, but also there is cork init and that provides us with sound elimination properties aswell. so it's really good foracoustics? yes. so our bestselling product is our creation
collection and it's the linethat actually you're going to have the most choices. ok. andthe line, the way that we selected we really tried tocover all of the natural colors of wood. the whole spectrum! soyou're going to have your natural colors here.
you'regoing to have your honeys, the browns and what's trending moreand more the darks - the greys! yes the greys and the darkerbrowns. yep, which is of coursewhere i fall in this color palette. so here you have thetile, but let's just focus on looking at our woods. yes so ithink i can narrow it down to this section here.
talk to meabout the lead time here on the product? oh yes it's allinstalled in the us. oh wellthat makes it easy. so it couldbe here in two weeks? yes, easy. it ships with in three days fromour facility in chicago. perfect! well yes it'sbeautiful, the texture that you
guys have created on theseplanks really does help give it that warmth and the natural lookof wood. and having said that ithink this is the one! the newfloor is exactly what this space needs! an easy to maintain,durable and natural looking design that will warm up theroom. you've really made a lotof progress so far on the floor how's it going?
it's goingreally well. it installs easilyand quick. it's a very simpleinstallation. i like it! yea,and not only does it look great. it sounds great too! in aproduction studio sound absorption is key! here atbrandstar studios we are always
in production no matter rain orshine. and when it rains... itpours! without proper insulationoutside noise can bring production to a stand still. plus, in this south florida heatclimate control is just as important in keeping the controlroom cool and the on camera talent from melting. so, inorder to keep the production running smoothly i knew i neededa solution out of sticky
situation. i have used sprayfoam before and was very happy with the results. i had heardabout this company called usi and hired them to help me out. so we are a service companyinside of the contractor world and what we specialize in isinsulation and what we call specialty products which arefinishing products inside of the home.
so what we've done here iswe've taken the problem of having too much noise or tryingto reduce noise and use the unique solutions from spray foamto attenuate that noise and create a different or morecomfortable living situation. the open cell spray foam that wechose to use in this application really absorbs some of thatnoise and at the same time prevents it from making itthrough a barrier. you knowthere are other applications where maybe you would want noiseto reflect and in that situation
you would use a closed cellspray foam. it's a thicker, moredense foam. but we chose theopen cell application based on the unique needs of thisproject. so when you aretalking about energy efficiency in any structure, be it aresidential or commercial building really what it comesdown to is sealing the building envelope. and what we mean bythat is any where there could
possibly be air loss or airpenetration in to a structure needs to be sealed up as best itcould be. so from a spray foamperspective our portion of that is the spray foam can get in tothe smallest cracks and crevices that maybe other traditionalinsulation can't. you know thedesign that kalyn has brought to this is able to maximize theindoor air quality of this facility and in a placespecifically like south florida where there is all sorts ofallergens floating around or rag
weed or pollen it's importantthat you minimize that and if you have a fresh clean airsupply coming in that's helped by insulation that's obviouslywill be beneficial to everyone who's in the building. lasttime i met with mark he mentioned needing additionalsound proofing in the ceiling. there was already existinginsulation, but with this new spray foam layer no noise wouldget in! now that the spray foamon the ceiling is complete i
think the employees will noticea huge difference in their overall comfort - thanks to amuch more regulated temperature, no outside noise and in the airquality itself. it's a much moreenjoyable and productive environment! work place is more than just about showing off your goodtaste? it's true! and whilecertain
colors and paintings can be theperfect converstation piece, the right piece of art can directlyimpact everyone's well being and productivity. studies have foundthat people with well decorated work areas are up to 17 percentmore productive than those without! choosing the right art cancreate a positive, optimistic environment that boostscreativity and reduces stress. for theme choose bold colorsfrom your office and look for
art that has similarcomplimentary tones. give itprominent lighting and hang it at eye level to naturallyattract your visitors gaze. artalso helps create culture in the work place and it can improvethe workplace culture itself, leaving a lasting impression onboth the employees who see it daily and on the clients whovisit. keep in mind this will be the first thing potentialclients see so make sure it
reflects a message in line withyour company's spirit. be bold, and choose art that inspires! whether it's a splash of color or a carefully curated mural. remember art doesn't just feedthe heart and the mind. it canalso feed your company's bottom line. we've gotten a lot accomplishedin a short amount of time, but
there is still a long road aheadbefore this entire unfinished production studio is completed. but there is no point indelaying the inevitable. i needto talk to my client mark and make sure he is up to speed onwhat else will be happening while i'm away on maternityleave. i'm hoping he took myadvice and found someone to fill in for me during my absence. hey kalyn!
hey mark how areyou?! it's good to see you. it's great to see you too. everything is good? everythingis really good. i was just nextdoor and i'm really excited about all of the progress andi've talked to ryan and russ, i've given them kind of anupdate and filled them in on what's been going on.
andi wanted to know, i'm glad i ran in to you, if you've found aproject manager like i've suggested? well, that's a littlebit of problem. oh ok! well youknow what let's go talk to carmen she might have someone inmind. ok good. surprise!!(clapping and yelling) in
construction, and in life, theysay you should always expect the unexpected. but i was notprepared for this. everything isin motion and i've handed over the plans. i wish i could bethere to over the next steps, but i know the show must go on. that was a great surprise forkalyn, huh? yea i think shereally appreciated it.
she wassurprised! yea she was, it'sawesome. so listen the reasonwhy i came in to see you in the first place is that we've got todo something about the studio and the construction now thatkalyn is going to be on maternity leave. what are youthinking? i think that youknow now that most of the design is done, what we really need isa project manager and i have
someone in mind. and... umactually she is right here. keri, come here! i want you tomeet mark alfieri. hi nice tomeet you. i think she would be perfect forproject managing our studio renovation. ok,congratulations! you're our new projectmanager.
oh wow thank you! good luck, that would beawesome. i'm really excitedthank you! are you ok withtaking on this additional responsibility? yes! i am veryexcited just let me know what you need me to do next. yes wewill get together.
well, i guessi'm taking over! for now. on the next episode of officespaces i am diving right in! first thingsfirst, i'll be meeting with russ and ryan, the construction duothat's been working hand and hand with kalyn. they are goingto get me up to speed on everything i need to know aboutmanaging a major renovation.
i'mkeri maletto and i'll see you next time on office spaces!