Home, Suite Home
Design makes deals happen.
What’s that, you say? “You pretentious snobs!”
Wait. Hear us out. We’ve seen this time and time again.
All of those “vanilla box” spec suites are a dying breed, and we know what they are dying of. Boredom. When you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one.
Willis Tower Model Office Suite, photo by Steve Hall
Building owners in Chicago are realizing this, too, and we’re working with them daily, so they can keep up with the trends. They call us because they know we’re creating impactful spec suites that turn heads and then turn into headquarters.
In fact, some of our favorite projects lately are more accurately described as marketing suites, the spec suite’s sexier siblings. They are intended to really capture what a space could be with extra details and thoughtful staging.
Because if you build IT—it being a damn cool office—THEY will come. We all know who THEY are.
Willis Tower Model Office Suite, photo by Steve Hall
Potential tenants, especially younger ones in the creative and tech sectors, emotionally connect through color, texture and other stand-out elements before committing to a lease. They want special, not ordinary. Finding the sweet spot to grow a startup starts in the gut.
On our end, we know how to play to the marketing suite's inherent strengths, highlighting ceiling heights, views, skylights or any other character that’s intrinsic to the space, and then figuring out the best way to deal with the less desirable features.
Shiftgig, 1 N. State Street, photo courtesy of CBRE
Unabashedly, we’ve designed multiple spaces that have needed little to no modification before the tenants move in, and some that were even snatched up while the design was just a rendering. We also work directly with leasing agents on how to best tour prospects through the space, showing them why we did things the way we did them.
One such case was a marketing suite we designed for the 57th floor of Willis Tower, and Joy Jordan, Senior Vice President of Telos, can attest to it getting a lot of attention. “It looks like no other spec suite in the marketplace today, with all of its unique/distinct features,” she says. “It encompasses everything that tenants want, while being far from a cookie cutter-space.”
Shiftgig, 1 N. State Street, photo courtesy of CBRE
These marketing suites prove functional and enjoyable for staff, too. Recently, Shiftgig, a rapidly growing tech company, moved into one in the One North State building. In just a few months, it was named one of the "coolest tech workplaces" by Built in Chicago.
Vikki Caruso, VP of Human Resources, says she appreciates the features of the space including the open floorplan. “The layout of our office caters to both small and large group collaboration as well as open and private meetings. It provides an inclusive environment where employees can grab a cup of coffee, sit on the couch and enjoy productive conversations with fellow employees.”
What more could you want?
Shiftgig, 1 N. State Street, photo courtesy of CBRE