PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
CLIENT : Confidential
DATE COMPLETED : June 2021
LOCATION : Grand Rapids, MI
SIZE : 160,000 sq ft
In the heart of Grand Rapids, Michigan, we led the interior design of a renovated seven-floor interdisciplinary office building, working in collaboration with AMDG Architects. The building is a family office, with numerous branches of the company’s business brought together under one roof. Our goal was to build a workplace for the next generation of leaders, while preserving the organization’s legacy.
Throughout the exterior and interior design, there are connections to Michigan and to the organization’s history, utilizing local materials and highly branded features. The central challenge of this project was planning a cohesive design that appropriately balanced the history and legacy of the founders, while also embracing the future and its new generation of leaders. In addition, our team had to carefully consider the day-to-day needs of each individual department, and strengthen the overarching culture through connective gestures. Leaning into modern, the transitional design was focused on executive-level sophistication, but it also integrated functional and aesthetic elements that appeal to younger generations.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
PUBLIC SPACES: Clockwise from left: Reception, Staff Floor Lobby Lounge, Staff Cafe
PUBLIC SPACES:
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
FAMILY SPACES:
FAMILY SPACES:
Clockwise from left: Connecting Stair Lounge, Family Exec pantry, Family Exec Lounge, Family Dining Meeting Room
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
CLIENT : Vornado & Stream
DATE COMPLETED : June 2022
LOCATION : Chicago
SIZE : 37,500 sq ft
The concept for this space was to celebrate the history of the Mart and existing architecture while layering in new clean, sophisticated design elements. The contrast between the building’s Art Deco features and the modern office aesthetic comes together in urban eclectic design. Our team preserved exposed concrete columns (including paint marks) and exterior brick, and juxtoposed them with angled geometries, minimalist millwork, and timeless finishes, like tweed and marble. Layers of artwork and accessories add pops of color, adding to a casual, contemporary feel.
The suite’s deep floorplate meant natural light was limited. Leaning into what the space provided, we created moody focus spaces in these more remote areas, while placing communal lounge spaces and open office seating near the windows. Circulation also had to be organized to guide users through the space. This was addressed through strong corridors, designed with changes in flooring material and playful lighting.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
Clockwise from left: Corridor, Conference Room & Lounge, Open Huddle Rooms, Break Room
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
From left: Lounge, Corridor, Open Office & Perch tables
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
CLIENT : Keller Lenkner
DATE COMPLETED : 2019
LOCATION : Chicago
SIZE : 6,600 sq ft
As a law firm who represents a broad array of clients in complex litigation, this client was looking for a timeless and conservative space to both functionally work in, as well as welcome clients into. They were moving out of a previously-designed Eastlake office, and into a new, more modern space at 150 N Riverside.
In addition to taking advantage of amazing views, the design features luxe finishes and clean lines with copious quantities of glass and quartz. A distinctive fumed eucalyptus veneer shines through custom millwork, adding warmth and sophistication throughout the space. Contemporary art acquisitions sourced from a local gallery are part of an initiative by the partners to support creativity and create experiences within their office that divert from the typical traditionalism of law firm design.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
Clockwise from left: Boardroom West wall, Break Room, Open Office, Boardroom East wall
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
CLIENT : Origami Risk
DATE COMPLETED : 2018
LOCATION : Chicago
SIZE : 25,000 sq ft
After previously designing their Merchandise Mart office, Origami Risk relocated to 222 N LaSalle asked us to design a new office for them to move to with flexible elements to respond to future hiring waves. We helped them find a new home in an Eastlake-designed marketing suite, combining existing blackened metals and grey woods with the angular elements and blue accents from their former space. We even relocated dozens of 3D-printed paper cranes.
The heart of Origami’s new workplace is a two-story town hall space, where we were able to combine existing light fixtures, decorative moldings and screens with new finishes and furniture to reflect an aesthetic more consistent with their culture. We added several new open lounges and tucked-away quiet areas, while integrating sophisticated, deep indigo accents. Anticipating additional growth in the future, we designed a folded-plate backlit sign in the reception area so that it can eventually be relocated when Origami expands into an adjacent suite.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendall CcCaugherty, Hall + Merrick + McCaugherty Photographers
From left: Break Room, Break Room close up, Branding Wall, Open Office, Huddle Lounge
DATE COMPLETED : 2020-2022
WEB LINK
This competition asked for submissions to examine what the Post-Covid office could look like. Named for one of our principal’s dogs, Hunter, this project uses a petfriendly workplace as a case study for choice-based office design. With choice-based design, we are focusing on advocating for end users to have many options as to how and where to work daily, with separate spaces for focus work, collaboration, and social time. This project included everything from customizable lighting, seating, temperature, and, of course, the choice to bring your dog to work. Flexibility and choice are essential in supporting workplace comfort, and providing for a diverse workplace of poeple with different work styles and needs.
While developing the concept, our team created a chart listing the assets needed to support many forms of comfort and wellness: thermal, acoustic, visual, mental, and physical, echoing the sense of well-being felt at home. Circadian rhythm lighting, air filtration, white noise solutions, and ergonomic furniture are some of the wellness assets included in the workplace. Planters, hanging greenery, and access to an exterior deck bring biophilia into the work day for humans, and give the dogs views of nature, and a park-like play environment.
DATE COMPLETED : 2021
WEB LINK
This competition asked for submissions to examine what the Post-Covid office could look like. Our team decided to focus our case study submission on shared amenities and public spaces within office buildings, and used 300 N LaSalle. Being together—as citizens, colleagues, in person and virtually— is already shaping the next wave of workplace design, and it will grow to exemplify the new normal. Additionally, office buildings will do more to give back to their communities, understanding their position as one piece of the woven fabric of the city. As a result of this, building amenities, which are so often spread out from the rooftop to the basement, have the powerful potential to shift to lower levels to increase their engagement with the public sphere. Inspired by the ancient Greek “assembly place,” Vertical Agora layers public incubator space within the lower floors of a riverfront high rise office tower, transitioning into co-working and meeting spaces on top. A street-grade plaza connects sectionally to the Chicago Riverwalk with attractions for the public on a lower level, including market kiosks for local vendors. The plaza slopes into the water, allowing watercraft to dock, and providing dynamic scenery of people, their urban canvas, and nature. The second floor contains exhibition space for community art projects, a gym to promote physical wellness, and conferencing programs to support the work happening in the tower above. Above them are two floors of flexible, reconfigurable co-working space where tenants can offer their staff a drop-in work area, and individuals can rent out desks as needed.
OF THE ALTERNATIVE WORKSPLACE
DATE COMPLETED : 2015
WEB LINK
For the master’s thesis at Harrington College of Design, students were asked to develop a thesis hypothesis and then complete a highly robust project on it. The thesis project required that we build a theoretical framework on the topic, complete research to support it, and write a report that summarized our findings and conclusions. We were then asked to complete a case study project to apply our thesis to.
THESIS SYNOPSIS: As advancements in technology and mobility continue to change our lifestyles and work methods, the way we use space is directly affected. As people can do anything anywhere, space must be designed so that it can provide for any number of functions taking place in them. Hospitality environments (and particularly hotels and coffee shops) have become an alternate place for people to work in, as they provide a much sought-after ambiance, and an escape from constricting offices and isolating home offices. However, these environments typically do not provide for the functionality needed for efficient working. On the flip side, traditional offices typically do not provide for the needs of individuals, providing “one size fits all” solutions and little personal comfort.
Taking inspiration from the technology driving this need for change, space must become more customizable and enabling of mobility. Both hospitality and workplace environments can take inspiration from one another and converge, providing spaces that are both functional and experiential. To provide better environments for people to work in, we must adapt to a convergence of spaces that provide more choice in where and how people work.
My thesis case study used the 320 N Morgan Street building in Fulton Market, which had been recently built at the time. The program included a boutique hotel, corporate office building, community spaces, and numerous building amentities, such as a coffee shop, a coworking space, and outdoor roof spaces.
Hi there! I’m Megan Stroud, and I am an NCIDQ registered senior designer with over 8 years of experience. Born and raised in Dallas, I moved to Chicago nearly 10 years ago, after graduating with a Bachelor of Interior Design degree from Texas Tech University. While working on my Masters degree at Harrington College of Design, I completed full-time internships at the Gensler Chicago office and the Coalesse furniture showroom in the Mart.
I have had experience in a large breadth of project types and clients; I have specialized in workplace design in tenant workplace interiors, marketing suites, and commercial building amenity spaces. My project work as a junior designer included multi-family residential complexes, retail showrooms, fitness & café facilities, and a few workplace interiors.
Throughout my career, I have developed a huge passion for user-experience focused design, as well as materiality, furniture design, and graphic design. My approach to design is holistic and comprehensive, and always driven by empathy and trying to understand the user’s experience and needs; I strive to be as thoughtful and detail-oriented as possible throughout each step of the design process, and absolutely love collaborating with my fellow designers and clients alike! I really love learning and questioning everything, so I’m never afraid to ask questions or try new ways of doing things.
Outside of design, I like trying my hand at lots of different creative outlets, including gouache painting, sketching with charcoal, and abstract embroidery stitching. I frequent my local public library pretty regularly, and am an avid consumer of true crime podcasts and murder mystery books. I’m constantly listening to music and making new playlists, and I love cooking/bartending/barista-ing for myself and friends. And I’m living that single dog mom life in West Town with my new puppy baby, Willie.
