CHICAGO-Interactive design agency Manifest Digital has expanded its main office from 600 W. Chicago to the almost century-old Jeweler’s Building at 35 E. Wacker Dr. With the move, the company was able to double its space to 23,000 square feet, and created a futuristic office design while allowing the firm to leave behind the young new-media crowd and join its design brethren.
Though the 40-story Jeweler’s building was opened in the 1920s, even hosting one of Al Capone’s speakeasies, the family ownership has invested in multi-million renovations, restoring old pieces of the building while installing modern infrastructure. Howard Ecker, president of Howard Ecker & Co., represented Manifest in the move to the 550,000-square-foot building, which is about 90% leased.
For the new office design, Gensler worked with Manifest to create a “Beta Space” concept, says Jim Jacoby, founder and president of Manifest, tells GlobeSt.com that the office can be described as “easily reconfigurable,” like a stage set.
“Gensler created a neighborhood approach to the workspace, where you have quiet areas and war rooms, but no dividers and benches for desk usage,” Jacoby says. “While we have people claiming their own space, there’s many communal work spaces, and many areas where people can just plug into a LAN line, or access the wireless Wi-Fi. I’m convinced full hoteling of workstations is in the not too distant future.”
He says 600 W. Chicago, the former Montgomery Wards building, has become frequented by new media tenants, who embrace the future technology but don’t respect the beauty of design, such as the 1920s Jeweler’s building. “Where we were got to be too much about being the hip place to be, we wanted to be where a building had a cultural statement.”
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