CHICAGO—All companies are concerned with how they are perceived, but for architecture and design firms, the buildings and offices they occupy play a special role in defining how potential clients view them. It was for that reason that when the Chicago office of global architecture and design firm Perkins+Will recently decided to leave Mies van der Rohe's iconic 330 N. Wabash Ave., formerly known as the IBM Building, it chose to occupy the top floors in the North Tower of the historic Wrigley Building. The firm has just signed a long-term lease and by early 2016 will transform the space into a 60,440 square-foot showcase for its ideas on office design, complete with a roof terrace that can host community events and provide an outdoor gathering and working space for employees.

“It was important for Perkins+Will to find a building that had an iconic feel similar to the IBM Building,” Bob Chodos, a principal with Colliers International, Inc. who represented the firm, tells GlobeSt.com. “The Wrigley Building has the cachet they were looking for. It shows they're committed to great architecture.”

Steve Levitas from Colliers also represented the firm. Brokers for the Wrigley Building are Zeller Realty Group and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.

The rental rates at 330 N. Wabash had increased beyond what the firm was willing to pay, but finding a more cost-effective space that met all of its criteria was not easy. “There were plenty of buildings that could have handled the square footage,” Chodos says, but in addition to a historically-significant structure, Perkins+Will also wanted an outside balcony, and that limited its options to a handful of Chicago towers.

Knowing that a potential tenant has few options encourages some landlords to play hardball, but in this case the owners jumped at the opportunity. “This is an architectural practice of global significance, and the owners felt it would be very important to have their building selected,” Chodos says. Although he can't provide any financial details, Perkins+Will “got a lot of concessions. The owners worked very aggressively to secure them as a tenant.”

“Office design is not just about building a work environment,” Chodos adds, “it's become an art form in which the designer has to dissect the culture of a business and create a space which fulfills its needs,” and it has become far more important for firms like Perkins+Will to show how they do that with their own employees. “Clients are always coming in to view models and check the progress of projects underway, and they make a lot of judgments about who they're doing business with based on the impressions made by that office space.”

And what they will see when touring the new space in Wrigley is an open office plan that functions as a highly flexible “living lab” for its roughly 250 architects, planners, and interior designers. “We are intentionally designing our new offices with few walls and private offices, developing a hub of creativity across business sectors where employees will have more choices to meet in small or large groups, formally and informally, in open spaces or in conference rooms,” says the firm's design director Tim Wolfe.

“Our new office in the landmark Wrigley Building symbolizes our commitment to staying in downtown Chicago in a vibrant space that will build on our distinctive culture and responsiveness to our clients,” says Chicago managing director Gina Berndt.