A Win for the Workplace

Goodman Group’s staff was advocating for virtual work. A new headquarters developed through a research-driven design process changed their minds.

By Wanda Lau

In the battle to attract employees back into the office, Goodman Group’s new Irvine, California, headquarters is winning. Originally designed to accommodate 80% of the staff returning to the office, the fit-out had to be expanded soon after its completion to accommodate the possibility of 100% in-house participation. This from a staff that had previously voted to work virtually four to five days a week in the wake of the COVID pandemic

The staff’s buy-in, achieved neither by force nor luck, was the result of a collaboration between Goodman leadership and a team of designers to develop a workplace that reflected the staff’s vision of an ideal workplace. From the start of the process, LPA’s research team was involved to learn more about the staff’s work habits and preferences, and the elements that would make them want to spend their days in the office instead of their homes. More than 90% expressed that home provided a better, more productive workspace. The global real estate firm’s executives were committed to understanding and implementing the research findings, convinced that having more people in the office would improve collaboration and productivity.

“The new headquarters is successful because the design process was driven from the top down, and the design input from the staff level up,” says LPA Project Designer Lindsay Votel. “Leadership wanted to understand what mattered to the employees, so that [became] ‘How are we going to get them back into the office in order to create a space that supports the staff’s needs and how they want to work?’”

At the same time, Goodman leaders wanted the 10,000-square-foot space to represent their brand and who they are as a company. The organization was going through fundamental changes, and the design process became an exploration of how its operations could serve its company culture for years to come.

A Deep Dive

The research process started before Goodman leased space. Through on-site observation, an office-wide survey, focus groups and interviews, LPA researchers with expertise in human behavior and environmental psychology gathered input about employees’ diverse working styles and preferences.

“Creating an atmosphere of inclusiveness early on in the process made each Goodman team member feel heard and validated, allowing for ideas to flow freely,” says LPA Design Director Rick D’Amato.

The staff’s dissatisfaction with their existing office quickly became clear. “Many employees wanted to remain remote or mostly virtual because they saw the corporate office as inferior to their home offices,” says LPA Senior Research Designer Rachel Nasland. For example, only 22% of survey respondents found the existing office adequate in providing acoustic privacy; only 27% were satisfied with visual privacy. An unspoken hierarchy in space quality also emerged: Certain workstations were deemed desirable while others were not. For the new office, employees wanted workstation uniformity and equality in technology, ergonomics and functionality.

“What people want in a space is often whatever they’re lacking,” Nasland says. “By understanding their pain points, we could turn the negative attributes of their former space into positive assets in their new space and create meaningful change.”

The results helped Goodman choose their new location. The space in a centrally located, multitenant commercial office tower addressed several priorities identified by the staff, including proximity to outdoor space, restaurants, a fitness center, parking and bicycle racks.

Once the location was selected, designers used their research findings to develop a space shaped for the company’s values and goals. The entrance from the common corridor features Goodman’s logo crafted in metal, a nod to the company’s industrial portfolio. Throughout, materials were chosen based on function and the brand, creating a space that was unique to Goodman.

Input from the research effort informed a spatial diagram based on functionality and the staff’s individual workflow and preferences. Based on staff feedback, the design team broke areas into smaller spaces, creating dispersed “neighborhoods” that support different working styles, from extremely private and quiet to quiet but not private to open, activated and collaborative, while keeping the overall office cohesive and contiguous.

The neighborhoods orient workstations perpendicular to the window line, giving every desk access to natural light and views. Full-height planter walls of wood and metal separate the neighborhoods; some also offer secure storage, another specific request from staff. For the “focus spaces,” dropped ceilings and acoustic panels create quiet, intimate environments that signal less talking and lower voices. Phone booths and cubbies offer that additional level of visual and auditory privacy. Spaces were intentionally designed to give staff more control over their environments, including ergonomics and acoustics, much as they have in their home environments. With all desks unassigned, each individual has agency to select the zone and seat that will provide them with the best comfort and support their productivity.

“Standardization was used to create flexibility,” D’Amato says. “Providing each member of the team with the same tools allows the form, materiality and orientation of the space to resolve light, acoustical, distraction and privacy concerns differently.”

A Central Core

The heart of the office is a central “black box” with a mix of private conference rooms and semi-enclosed collaborative spaces. Initially compressed in volume by a drop wood ceiling, the black box space transitions seamlessly to an open social porch with expansive views of the city skyline. A mix of seating options and hospitality amenities on the porch support casual staff conversations and dining.

Every element of the space was designed to serve a specific function, offer choice and foster a more resilient, healthier environment. By grouping enclosed spaces at the core, the glazed perimeter provides all open-office workstations with a meaningful connection to daylight and views. The planter walls and a robust distribution of plant arrangements infuse biophilic elements throughout the space.

Efficient building systems minimize energy consumption while improving air quality and employee comfort. Priority was given to organic forms, textural materials and an interior palette of natural fibers and nontoxic or low-VOC products.

Throughout the process, everyone involved was aware of the challenge. The space would be judged by the willingness of the Goodman team to embrace the new headquarters and make it their own. It was seen as a victory when three months after opening its headquarters, Goodman exercised an option to lease adjacent space and grow its footprint by another third.

“We always understood we had to give the staff spaces that allowed them to work better and more efficiently than they did at home,” Votel says. “We had to give them a reason to come back to the office.”