CREJ

DECEMBER 2016 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \

End Users

on. The project has been very suc-

cessful, and we continue to draw

on aspects of it for other projects

in the Sovos portfolio.

LH:

Froma design aspect, the Boul-

der office is very different from our

other offices in the U.S. And while

you don’t have the ability to say, “Let’s

go in and give our sites an entirely

new look,” we are using ideas from the

Boulder project that we think are re-

ally effective. We don’t replicate them

because that doesn’t work geograph-

ically, but we’ve applied some of them

as appropriate to other locations. We ask,

“How can we create that same inspiration

in our other offices?” So there has been

influence in the way we’re thinking about

build-outs and expansions in our other of-

fices. Having multiple projects going on at

once means they feed off each other.

MW:

The life cycle of a project can be very

long by the time the need is identified, the

site is located, the space is designed/permit-

ted/built and you move in. During that time,

it’s not atypical for there to be a merger or acquisition – so

you have brand changes and staffing migration to contend

with, as well. That’s a lot of change to manage but change

impacts projects in different ways, depending on the region.

For example, we’re pretty rooted here in Colorado. There’s a

lot of migration in, but not a lot of migration out.

Q: What were some of your inspiration or grounding points for

this project – things you found that make Colorado or Boulder

unique, and why did they come into play?

LH:

The centerpiece of the Boulder office is its communi-

ty spaces, the places where employees can come together,

whether it’s for a site-wide meeting, having lunch together,

brainstorming or the weekly wine hour that was a tradi-

tion here. The wine bar in particular is very welcoming, very

modern – it’s been very successful.

KH:

It’s the heart of the space.

LH:

Yes! That’s a great metaphor. All of our offices are grow-

ing. In Boulder, to support growing client needs, we’ve dou-

bled our staff and the square footage of the space. The team

had to adjust and having these centralized spaces really

helped.

This concept of a central “heart” has been so successful in

Boulder that it’s influenced how we think about some of our

other spaces. We’re talking about it a lot, thinking about it a

lot, and trying to find ways to realize this in the design of oth-

er offices right now. In our Boston headquarters, for example,

we’re incorporating more community spaces and modern el-

ements. We’re asking, “How will people come together? How

will they collaborate?”

Q: What are some of the more unique adaptations you’ve seen

in this office, and would they translate to other locations?

LH:

Well, our Boulder employees use scooters to get around

the office, which you wouldn’t necessarily see at our head-

quarters. They’ve also made some small changes and added

some personalized touches to adapt the space to their needs,

and you wouldn’t see as much of that in a headquarters

space. It’s great to see how they’ve taken it and made it their

own. People are flexible and adaptable, but they like to look

around and say, “Is this space mine to mold?” Workspaces can

be very influential in people’s personal journeys and impact

change management as well. And in a highly designed space,

like this office, it’s gorgeous but there can be a gap in how

employees can take ownership of it. Boulder has done a good

job creating that balance. We have standards and branding,

but it’s not the living room you’re not allowed to sit in.

KH:

We also have a chalkboard wall that our teamhas really

made their own, and of course the wine bar. And, like we said

earlier, we’re looking for ways to translate some of these pop-

ular ideas to other Sovos offices.

LH:

As the company grows both organically and by bringing

other companies into the fold, we learn a lot from each oth-

er. We collaborate. And when people travel among offices, it

fun to see what’s different. It’s great hearing that people are

enthused about their work spaces. Each office has its own dif-

ferentiation points and appeal, but we see great energy and

collaboration in each office.

KH:

Because we needed additional space, the office had to

move from Pearl Street in the heart of downtown Boulder to

Flatiron Park. This migration into an entirely new environ-

ment brought everyone together and made this space their

own, which is so important culturally.

LH:

That’s right. Because Boulder is a very tight real estate

market, it was challenging to find adequate space downtown,

so we moved to the office park. But it was important to not

be too far away; we’re still in Boulder and still just a bike ride

away from downtown.

Also, since it took a while to find the new space, our sched-

ule was really tight. We had about a week buffer before our

old lease expired. So we had to really hustle to get into the

new space before then.

MW:

That’s a great point. Not only do you need alignment

on the design and a nimble, flexible staff that supports the

change, but the economics also have to pencil. The numbers

always have to work.

Maren Miller Photography

The “heart” of the office – the wine bar.