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any companies large and small are learning to adjust to the changing office landscape post-COVID. GNC is no exception and their belief that the office space needs to be a place where employees want to come back to, coupled with the reality of remote work, drove many of the decisions. Creating a vibrant space with planned areas for collaboration was the starting point. Balancing the needs for collaboration, culture and training with the practicality of work from home was a major challenge. What were “secondary” spaces like cafes, huddle rooms, and impromptu collaboration spaces a few years ago, are now “primary” spaces in the new work landscape.
The process for acquiring these types of spaces is changing too. Speed to market has always been a factor but with the disruption to worldwide supply chains that process has suddenly become far more complex. GNC knew their schedule was tight so forming a team early made the most sense. Having the architect/design firm, GC, furniture partner and other key trades like AV integrators work collaboratively early on paid huge dividends. Interior designers today must factor in availability along with aesthetics and that only comes with strategic partnerships formed early in the process rather than the conventional specify-bid-award process. This more fluid partnering process can produce great results like the new GNC HQ but only if there is a commitment to open communication. From the top down, there was great communication from GNC and all of the project partners and together the goals for time, cost, function and aesthetic were achieved.
