This exciting project started with Dixon Architecture introducing us to Pat Gill, President, and Liz Bracken, Vice President, of Grand River Bank who had a branch in Grandville in 2019. That team was working on a plan to create a second branch in Ada, and they were looking for design support.
This more than two-year process resulted in a great space that both Grand River Bank and r.o.i. Design are proud of. We are even more grateful for our relationship and the friends we made there.
During the design process for Ada, we helped Grand River Bank decorate a leased office in Cascade that temporarily housed lenders. We also assisted their Grandville offices with COVID screen designs and resources.
Design elements in the new facility we celebrate include:
Ceiling clouds and lighting in the retail and corridors space – capturing light and creating comfort.
The reception desk and teller casework design, with its warm wood and white marble textures – very residential in feel.
Warm and engaging finishes and wall art.
We started the process with a consultative approach, engaging the Grand River Bank team with a series of meetings to understand the company’s goals, team preferences, and methods. The Grand River Bank leadership team moved the project forward cautiously considering COVID, knowing that they had a sound customer base in Ada. They partnered with BDR Custom Homes of Ada who was the general contractor, a partner, and a potential co-tenant of the building at 50 Crahen. Page Woodworking, a customer of Grand River Bank, created all the custom casework and countertops.
Grand River Bank brands its bank as a more personal, hands-on bank, offering daily delivery and pick-up services and welcomes face-to-face engagements. They pride themselves on creative solutions to funding and financing. That combination created a design challenge for the new offices, one-part friendly retail, and one-part corporate lending, but both needing staff to have facilities that offered efficient spaces and accommodations to create the best in service.
DLN’s growth is a result of their commitment to their customers, creating customized solutions for material handling and automation. That commitment and attitude was also seen through their process of interior design of their offices: clear, consistent, simple, and innovative.
r.o.i. Design worked with DLN to select interior finishes and to make recommendations for lighting design and lighting fixtures. We teamed up with their furniture providers to coordinate plans and finishes.
The result is a space that is industrial yet engaging with the use of wood and warm colors. We are the proudest of our influence on the lighting design and selection and design of the wood walls.
r.o.i. Design has a 25-year relationship with Wolverine Building Group, and we are grateful for the work they give us in the industrial and retail builds.
When Aaron Jonker and Curt Mulder purchased the company and became the new presidents and co-owners of Wolverine, they looked to redesign their office spaces. While Wolverine does have designers on staff, they wanted outside help with their first-floor main conference room which is highly visible and used frequently.
Our design included updating the lighting and finishes. The back accent wall of the room is clad in large monolithic ceramic tiles with a metallic finish. The carpet tiles create a unique gradient pattern along the length of the room. Wolverine replaced their old conference table with a new custom table using an ash burl top and a base of reclaimed steel girders designed by Robert Mulder. r.o.i. Design also provided custom glass white boards.
The room was transformed and will stand the test of time for the next generation of leadership at Wolverine Building Group.
A large part of r.o.i. Design’s success is our collaboration and engagement with each other. So naturally, we are looking forward to our return to the office after the stay-at-home quarantine.
While gatherings are being scrutinized, we know for many groups, being together adds a level of performance and creativity that can’t be achieved otherwise.
So, what can teams do to make safe gathering engaging and enjoyable? Here are some ideas from our customers and peers:
Create an outdoor breakroom with the appropriate distance between chairs. That may mean clearing some space and putting in a temporary railing to give the area a sense of space. Outdoor furniture and accessories, including a fire pit, umbrellas, space heaters, and bug repellents could be added.
Stagger breaks and the use of breakrooms so fewer occupants are present at one time, allowing for social distancing.
Remove some of the chairs, so people are spaced apart.
Post interesting facts about co-workers and the company in the breakroom to encourage staff to leave their desks.
Run games in the breakroom to create friendly competition between shifts.
One of our customers removed the breakroom tables and brought in two ping pong tables for people to eat at, meet at, and of course, play ping pong. They created circles on the floor to help folks visualize safe distances.
A more extreme change was by a medical customer who hung clear shower curtains in the space to create “booths” to maximize the use of their cafeteria. They reorganized seating to allow for wide aisles that lead to the booths. The reports are that folks are sitting in adjacent booths so they can still have a conversation during lunch.
Another group with more than 50 employees agreed to stagger its in-office work schedules. They removed cubicles in order to create a much larger open space. They populated the open area with chairs, physical therapy balls, and lounge seating positioned six feet apart. In those areas, large monitors are being used to engage with others, who may be working from home that day. They plan to move people back altogether before the fall.
For more information on why it is important for people to gather and how the pandemic is challenging our mental health, read the best selling book The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, by Priya Parker.
“The way we gather matters. Gatherings consume our days and help determine the kind of world we live in, in both our intimate and public realms. Gathering—the conscious bringing together of people for a reason—shapes the way we think, feel, and make sense of our world…”
Corporations are looking for ways to make employees more comfortable and productive while in the office. So what creates that happiness and what is the role of design to aid in creating happiness at work?
r.o.i. Design has seen their customers provide a variety of
spaces and amenities to their offices to assist with making a
multi-generational workforce glad to be at the office.
While break rooms are important, so are the other pit stops
and opportunities for refreshment:
A small counter with a beverage fridge and a Keurig reminds folks to keep hydrated.
Some lounge furniture by a window with a view. Doesn’t have to be an enclosed office, just a spot for a moment of contemplation and enjoyment.
If your office is filled with cubicles, converting a small office to a shared space so a couple of folks can work privately can be very productive.
On the stressful days, the old fashioned “tea cart” being pushed around with snacks at least makes them smile.
And then there is the opportunity to communicate to staff
through messaging:
Monitors that run changing images and texts are great for keeping staff “in the know”.
Imagine if, after the boring quarterly meeting, a monitor in the office had funny photos from the meeting with some bullet points to repeat the key points of the meeting, but also to remind folks that they appreciate them coming to the meeting!
Recognize staff for a job well done or celebrate with those crazy birthday announcements
Or just maybe having the company Facebook page up on the screen.
One office we visited had staff DISC profiles looped on a video.
And if your office doesn’t have a ton of space to create
“other spaces”, or a budget for art or technology, consider adding plants and
greenery to soften the interior.
No matter how a company expresses their care for their
employees, any effort to recognize staff efforts and dedication is appreciated.
Congratulations to Mill Steel Company on the opening of
their new headquarters on Lucerne Drive in Grand Rapids.
This 30-year-old brick building exterior was modernized with new paint and metal siding, roof dormers, canopies and railings, decorative light fixtures and new signage. r.o.i. Design could be seen with large finish samples walking around in the snow and rain last year, working with Mill Steel imagining all of the finish changes.
This project began with r.o.i Design managing a programming step, interviewing a variety of people from Mill Steel and creating bubble plans for Dixon Architecture to use in creating the floor plan. The plan included private offices and meeting rooms, but proportionately much more open office, collaborative and shared spaces. There are a café and a breakroom, as well as a patio and fire pit. Staff have plenty of breakout areas for private conversations or just to get away.
Mill Steel wanted the space to be engaging and represent their personalities; they liked clean lines and assured us they weren’t afraid of color. The interior was completely demolished and remodeled – most new walls have glass doors and windows that open up all the rooms to the natural light. r.o.i. Design worked closely with contractors on the lighting and ceiling plans to make sure the space was well lit and energized. The color scheme included their brand blue color but overall was kept neutral, light and bright.
Some of our favorite interior design features include:
Ametal paneled wall in the lobby
A “Live Wall” in the breakroom
Pivot doors from the breakroom to the training room
A custom twenty-one-foot boardroom table
Painted wall graphics
Floors with interesting carpet and luxury vinyl tile patterns throughout the office.
Thank you to Dixon Architecture and Dykhouse Construction
for partnering with us on this great project.
Mill Steel is one of the largest steel service centers in
the nation. They specialize in
flat-rolled carbon steel for various markets including automotive, appliance,
construction, HVAC, and agriculture. Their 32,000 sq. ft. facility is a
two-story building with walkouts on both levels and conveniently located to
highways.
For more information on Mill Steel, visit their website.
