FIND YOUR BEAT.
As humans, we are extremely sensitive to sound. Our thoughts and behaviors are attached to the emotions we form from a audio experience.
Sound becomes a powerful component in how we live, work, and play. Top complaints of office employees are centered around factors of concentration - sound, privacy, and interaction.
60%
Of employees feel they have low concentration when working in office
Virtual collaboration is crucial in the evolving workplace. Hybrid accommodations produce an equitable environment on both sides of screen
Privacy and individual space is the top request for a better workplace. Employees want a balance of socialization and focus
Employees value having assigned workstations and flexible furniture to get in the right groove
NEXT Chicago invites users to “find your beat” through sound deprivation and sound production. The balance and choice of audio experiences creates a personalized workplace that supports users to go on their own journey or enjoy together.
turning down the noise
The inspiration for this project is drawn from warm and cool elements that inspire sound, from record players to telephones, to dancing, the space will feel vibrant and produce a sophisticated environment with muted hues, and visual movement across all planes to keep the grove going.
Explore the barriers + aspirations of traditionally excluded communities through collaboration and partnership
Recognize that spatial needs vary and generate ideas that consider the full range of human difference
RECOGNIZING EXCLUSION, UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS
Integrate a diverse group of people into the design process. Embrace different perspectives and be intentional to include various ages, cultures, races, gender, level of education, neurodiversity, etc
Leverage feedback to impact the outcome. Commit to observe, test, iterate, and evolve
INCLUDE, LISTEN + EVOLVE
Strive for equity and equitable experiences, and re-imagine “one size fits all” solutions
Design for the individual, while exploring how it scales to address many needs
CREATE EQUITABLE EXPERIENCES
Empower personal autonomy as well as individual choice and control by creating a diverse ecosystem of spaces
Build flexible and responsive spaces that ensure ease + dignity
DESIGN TO EMPOWER + ACCOMMODATE
The Amphitheater centralizes music, sound, and socialization that gradually declines to the deprivation spaces of the open office.
Integrative technology and sound studios allow users to create the perfect soundtrack for their evolving dayto-day.
Entering NEXT Chicago, is exploded and expressed on every plane. The reception desk is an abstract assembly of drums, highlighting the tallest red component with millwork details. The NEXT logo takes on multiple function as a light fixture, wayfinding guide, and physical branding.
Every employee has the opportunity to experience sound through the complimentary headphones housed on a configurable peg board.
NEXT takes prides in it’s brands and their history, especially with sound. In the client display portion of the reception, users can interact with the brand displays using headphones to experience their client’s beat.
Acoustical wall panels span from floor to ceiling to catch the user’s eye and draw attention to the featured clients.
The Brand Studio creates an immersive experience for clients with a custom 21’-0” multi-screen display that can serve as one or multiple screens,
The dark curved walls flanking the presentation display serve surround and immersive the viewers with video and audio presentations, creating a concert-like experience.
CAFE RCP
Ceiling Height = 10’-2” AFF
The cafe is open and adjacent to The Amphitheater for multi functional uses. Steelcase Flex Tables offers flexible arrangements and uses with casters and accessory hooks. Employees are offered complimentary popcorn to taste the beat of their client.
6 steps
5 steps
3 steps
1 step
As employees transcend to level 7, they create own sound with just the touch of a step.
As the stairs rise to the Record Lounge, runner length decreases and the number of stairs in each run increases.
This escalation mimics the crescendo experienced from traversing levels
The Amphitheater is the nucleus of sound creation. Open to the level 7 Record Lounge, music and sound bounced between floors. Custom stairs and guardrails visually create the movement of sound frequencies.
Interlocking suspended acoustical panels form an “X” referencing the bouncing and intertwining of sound.
The Record Lounge function as a “library” space within the office. To prevent large groups and meetings. Cozy lounge furniture invites guests to sit back, relax, and let the vinyls guide them through their work. Laptop tables provide space for a laptop or tablet for employees who wish to work while they jam.
Acoustical curtains surround the lounge to provide employees of the adjacent departments to chose to be apart or away from the beats. Flex whiteboard systems are mounted in front of the windows and serve as control for daylight vertical work space.
Sound in open office dwindles to allow optimal focus and stimulation. Compared to the sound creation areas, patterns and hues are muted to visually correlate with the dwindling sound levels as the user enters the space.
Each workstation is equipped with a privacy screen and upholstered pedestal for storage and quick chats. The expansive acoustical lighting fixture muffles noise traveling up to level 7.
Orange pods remain reservable at all times and are optimal for individual use and ultimate focus
Blue offices remain reservable at all times , and invites groups of 1-2 employees to collaborate in private
Red offices by default belong to department directors, and remix to reservable private spaces when the director is not in office
Overlooking The Amphitheater is the open collab space on level 7. Under the skylight, employees can enjoy the beat of the rain or soak in the sunlight while they meet colleagues move to the beat of their own drum.
“We hope to create a space where you can find your beat no matter what moves you.
