A deeper look at CannonDesign’s innovative downtown workplace

BY LISA KOPOCHINSKI

“We designed this workspace to best empower our creative teams to design breakthrough solutions for our clients,” said CannonDesign design principal, Michael Tunkey.

“The leading-edge space is a showcase destination for our firm and a hub for collaboration and ingenuity. We relied on a highly-engaging workplace strategy to shape the workspace. The result is an open floor design with room for up to 200 teammates and very few private offices.”

Surrounding the work areas is a diverse array of huddle rooms, teaming spaces, meeting rooms and formal and informal collaboration zones. These spaces allow staff to choose how and where they work to best suit their personal needs.

“A central cafe brings people together for work and socialization during the workday and can also host client and community events,” Tunkey said.

With health and wellness driving themes throughout the space, this translated to many amenities, including showers, a mother’s room, a large cafe, bicycle storage, sit/stand desks for everyone and more.

“Beyond our own workplace, the building also connects our teammates to a gym, public art, indoor and outdoor community space, as well as numerous restaurants via the mezzanine level and surrounding area,” Tunkey said.

Open Design Concept

Arc Building Partners completed renovations on CannonDesign’s space in October 2020. Situated in the center of the Buffalo’s downtown business district, the office is spread across a single floor at mezzanine level in 50 Fountain kbiddle@maderconstruct.com

Aside from work areas, the space features a diverse array of huddle rooms, teaming spaces, meeting rooms and formal and informal collaboration zones.

Plaza. The workplace is predominantly open with private offices for certain individuals, in addition to numerous large conference spaces for employees to host events and meetings.

The lobby that sits immediately below CannonDesign’s new space stretches across both the Fountain Plaza Towers. The Arc Building Partners team recognized this proximity and focused on the need to mitigate noise, error and delays during the workplace project.

After demolition was complete, Arc’s team successfully examined and coordinated around existing utilities and conditions by use of laser scanning technology, 3D scanning and building information modeling (BIM).

The open spaces in the workplace above allows CannonDesign’s employees to collaborate more freely, while drawing attention to purposeful design elements, such as Arktura acoustic ceiling systems and Takion glass wall partitions.

“Our team faced the complexities associated with this project’s unique design head on, from the light fixtures to the built in high-tech audio-visual package,” said Arc Building Partners president and chief executive officer, Frank Ciminelli II.

RONCO software was installed in all conference rooms to give users a more simplified experience with enhanced functionality.

“We also installed the first Power over Ethernet (PoE) lighting system in Western New York, which provides CannonDesign with a sophisticated and customizable control over lighting and climate throughout their office,” said Arc Building Partners vice-president of field operations, Dwayne Fleming. “The state-of-the-art technological elements incorporated into the space will maximize CannonDesign’s cost savings over time and reduce their carbon footprint.”

A Strategy For Success

The open floor design for its teammates is all driven by the extensive workplace strategy that shaped the project.

“We held extensive stakeholder engagement sessions with our employees to ensure the space catered to their work and personal needs. The open floor plan is surrounded by all different types of collaborative and individual workspaces that are calibrated to best support our people,” added Peter McCarthy, a key design lead for CannonDesign’s team and the new workplace project.

CannonDesign’s commercial team works with leading-edge companies in Buffalo and nationally on workplaces every day including LinkedIn, M&T Bank and Square, among many others.

“Essentially, our space is a living laboratory for the workplace of the future,” McCarthy said. “It empowers our people to work how and where they need to for maximum creativity. And, it’s capable of adapting to future changes in work or as we learn more about how our team is using the space.”

CannonDesign decided to relocate their office to downtown from their previous location on Grand Island as it better connects the team to the city and allows staff to drive, ride or bike to work.

“At 50 Fountain Plaza, we’re truly in the heart of Buffalo’s downtown at the nexus of two very important streets in the city—Main and Chippewa—just