Designing For the Future Workplace: Inside Arcadis Coral Gables Office

Arcadis takes on their own Miami, Florida office space to prepare for the design of a future workplace.   

• Arcadis, a global leader in design and consultancy for natural and built assets, moved into its state-of-the-art workspace, nestled in the heart of The Plaza Coral Gables. The office is dedicated to Arcadis’ architecture, interiors and urbanism team, who designed it with the future workplace in mind. 

The team that now occupies this office are also the architects and interior designers behind the visually stunning, technologically innovative, and eco-friendly workspace. Drawing inspiration from nature, the city, and their extensive knowledge of hospitality design, they created an ambiance that exudes complexity, style, and comfort. Upon entering the 7,030-square-foot office, visitors are greeted by a spacious reception area that radiates luxury and warmth. A stunning 15-foot tall and 42-foot-wide warm, sustainably sourced wood screen is the focal point, inviting natural light to enhance the space’s beauty. A custom fabric light fixture adds to the ambiance, while lush green tropical foliage infuses a sense of warmth and welcome.

The office’s design promotes collaboration, transparency, and well-being.

With open ceilings and large windows allowing natural light to flood the space, productivity, and energy levels are uplifted. The free layout artfully highlights the building’s architecture, fostering teamwork and efficiency. The conference rooms feature advanced technology and sleek glass walls, offering privacy, functionality and places to support continuous learning, training and upskilling. A welcoming hospitality space, the pantry features oversized island and rejuvenated dome light fixtures encourages socialization and relationship-building. Every element of the office space was thoughtfully considered, from the vibrant color scheme to the custom nature-inspired carpet patterns that add a burst of color and playfulness. The result is a functional and flexible workspace that encourages productivity, connectivity, and well-being.

The Arcadis Miami Studio is a testament to its commitment to creating innovative, sustainable, and welcoming workspaces that inspire creativity and collaboration.

Project Planning

Pre-planning and Strategy: When the team was planning to relocate the studio to an almost completed Plaza Coral Gables, the group embraced the reality of hybrid work style, continuing to attract talent residing across the USA. The new space needed to be a hub for purposeful collaboration, co-creation and strengthening social connections. Mentoring, training, and upskilling of emerging professionals was key. Surveys and detailed interviews were conducted of all team members, so the design responded to this gathered data. Prioritizing space for collaboration, maker space and material resource library, the studio was effectively designed at 60% of the previous office space.

Engagement Activities:The core design team addressed their co-workers as a client team, to ensure their feedback was incorporated, through an exhaustive iterative process, where concept themes were voted on.

Transition and Change Management were All-Hands-on-Deck: The entire studio members embarked on a transition to paperless and digitizing all documents that did not need to be archived remotely. Salvaged office and art supplies were donated to local public schools, and all other items were donated to GoodWill and Habitat for Humanity. 

Special Research Conducted on:  Neuroscience and Neuroaesthetics, and local fabricators to partner with for implementing circular design.

Project Details

Connect with Nature: The studio’s stunning 19-foot-high open ceilings expose the building’s structure, adding volume and creating additional ceiling height. The large windows facing north and west, allow natural light to flood the space with a warm glow, enhancing productivity, uplifting spirits and energy levels, and offering breathtaking city views. Shared spaces are enhanced by indoor tropical plants, bringing nature in.

Wellness Promoted: Meeting the AIA 2030 Commitment, working towards zero toxicity goals and healthy materials, the project is tracking LEED CI V4 Certification.  Wellness is also promoted by maximizing daylight, utilizing the uninterrupted views to city, park, and sky. As a central and focal point of the studio, along the north- facing Window Lounge and Garden Lounge, air-cleaning plants will continue to grow and create an indoor lush tropical garden, as a form of phytoremediation and a tangible immediate connection to nature. 

Science-based Experiences: Recent Neuroscience and NeuroAesthetics research studies highlight how indoor environments deeply influence the emotional and psychological well-being as well as performance of occupants. By providing a choice in types of spaces that offer, for example, both refuge and prospect, interior architectural design can help amplify feelings of safety and belonging. Sitting Nooks called Cozy Corners provide a sense of refuge, which enhances focus and learning capabilities, while offering that spaciousness and longer vistas provides prospect, which fosters creativity and innovation by allowing the users to envision future possibilities, improving problem solving and enabling a “what if” mindset.

Circular Design: Revitalize, Re-imagine, Renew were three key initiatives implemented. The repurposed and refinished filing cabinets extended the life of these, 24 years and counting. In collaboration with manufacturers and local vendors, the proposed pendant fixtures and carbon neutral, recycled fiber carpet tiles all contributed to showcasing circular design initiatives. 

Biophilic Design: Patterns and textures are inspired by the local flora. The custom divider screen is an abstract reference to local groves. The natural hardwood FSC oak planks were orchestrated in a syncopated, naturally random, vertical pattern and act as a main feature of the Garden Lounge and open studio. 

Style and Substance:

Here, the how is just as important as the why.

Putting into practice a circular economy strategy by reusing, re-finishing, and re-imagining almost all the existing furniture, it was important to creatively reinvent the existing pieces. By seamlessly incorporating existing items into a new design, new millwork, refinishing, refurbishing and reconfiguring workstations, or reuse as-is, such as conference room tables, task chairs and other seating, while supporting designers practicing multiple disciplines, the space reflects not only a unique work environment, but has the Miami hospitality flair, called “Sazón”.

Everyone is Welcome​: The branded entry foyer’s unique, extra-large scale, custom pivot sculptural door represents the Studio’s open-door philosophy, and “people first” approach. All multi-disciplinary teams, not just the local teams, and the community at large, can use the space after hours, for sponsored events and idea sessions such as the Planet Positive Innovation Series, starting in September 2024. 

Key Products 

Tech Solutions

The studio is open for any Arcadis team member across other studios and other sectors to come in and work for a few hours, or days. To facilitate planning and scheduling management, they use NSpace.

The Design of the New Studio Considered These Key Ideas

• The Future of Workplace is Now – Crafting a welcoming space that inspires innovation and creativity, and embracing the vitality, energy and diversity of Miami, the design redefines how we work. Technology enabled for hybrid collaboration, the design helps shape the future of workplace design, where sustainability is a way of life, and the notion of office is reimagined. The result is inspiring, connecting, and highlights a planet- positive path moving forward.
• Sense of Place – Design drivers included a strong connection to the local South Florida context through the use of color, textures and patterns, and balancing the exposed, raw shell and core of the architecture and curated and refined millwork and finishes, keeping the local heritage in mind.  Three (3) new place-making elements were used: ​

1. Hospitality-inspired, custom millwork FSC oak screen partition defines the Garden Lounge and Lobby, providing visual privacy. 
2. Suspended series of custom luminaires, organized in a natural and organic geometric pattern, increasing acoustic comfort. 
3. Daylight was used as an organizing spatial element, optimized throughout with all interior build outs located closer to the building core. 

• Inviting, Immersive, Connected – The Tech Hub, a multi-purpose lounge, is a vibrant hub for teams to gather, foster collaboration and allows for client meetings and work sessions to take place in a more open and relaxed setting, with interactive A/V and immersive Virtual Reality capabilities Including telescopic partitions that open to the pantry area, which mirrors the inviting atmosphere of a kitchen in someone’s home, the fluid and flexible space fosters connection and creativity. The reconfigurable and movable furniture can be arranged for multiple uses, from town hall meetings, design charrettes, and wellness, meditation, and yoga classes.
• Accelerating Nature-Positive Solutions – The Tech Hub and Pantry Lounge and Garden Lobby double as an after hours community gathering space for South Florida’s business and design community’s panel discussions, symposiums, continuing education presentations and networking events. The diverse, inclusive, and design excellence-driven culture of the office space is celebrated and reinforced by providing a large, pantry and multipurpose Tech Hub lounge where daily cafecitos, meals and gatherings take place. A place to share ideas and explore planet positive solutions.
• Team Synergy – Supporting a multi-generational team, different styles of work are encouraged through a variety of spaces and seating choices. Project-based teams and individual mobility are supported by full wireless connectivity and movable, reconfigurable furniture. The studio features a variety of areas for quiet, focused work or available to host design charrettes, immersive digital presentations. Collaboration rooms are space-effective and activated by full height idea walls. The rooms are completely transparent to the north and west, optimizing daylight. 
• Collaboration and Concentration – Designed for optimizing team synergy, the studio offers both collaboration and concentration spaces, featuring a generous assortment of conference rooms and break-out spaces. Strategically, the team planned for a 1:3 ratio of focused, task-oriented work seating to collaboration seating. 

• Local and Tropical – The color palette, custom carpet patterns and textures are inspired by the local flora. The design is modern and pioneering, with a vibrant color scheme that balances harmoniously. The conference rooms feature Axminster custom carpets, with abstracted lush natural patterns, adding a confident and original touch.  For the pantry’s shared space, the new island features 100% recycled terrazzo countertop, adding a natural pattern and visual interest.  
• The Miami team has crafted a welcoming space that inspires innovation and creativity, embracing circular economy principles. Redefining how we work and shaping the future of workplace design, where sustainability is a way of life, the result is inspiring, connecting, and shows a nature-positive path moving forward. Masterfully repurposing and refurnishing existing furniture, the team integrated and blended these pieces harmoniously into the new design, breathing life and character into every corner of this innovative studio, creating a strong sense of place.

Key Industry Contributors

MEP Team

RGD Consulting Engineers – Greg Brown

Lighting Design

Lux Collaborative – Kyle McGahan

General Contractor

Origin – Jay Richmond

Millwork Partners

Synergy – Alexander Giron

Rolu Woodcraft– Luis Palenzuela

Furniture Dealers

Empire Office – Peri Silber and Lisa Lowe

CBI Workspace Solutions – Sean Rudin

Audio Visual

Melody AV – Greg Saphier

Art

Clyde Butcher

Overall Project Results

• The team has returned to the office with renewed enthusiasm. Collaborative work is the cornerstone of our success, and we depend on engagement, reflection, connection, and creativity, which can be difficult to achieve remotely. In-person interaction is vital to create a productive and satisfied team culture and to expand our knowledge and upskilling sessions. The Miami team has created a comfortable, inspiring workplace promoting creative vision. 
• A magnet for talent, the studio is hosting weekly continuing education and networking events, based on innovation, helping to accelerate nature-positive solutions.
• The team is now able to host a series of events, all open to the public, including Innovation Series, co-hosted with our Arcadis Resilience team, and other ClimateTech Innovators, and to supporting CRE organizations such as ULI and the ULI Women Leadership Initiative events.
• The Studio is located Level 2, North Tower of the new Plaza Coral Gables, a three-city block project designed by Arcadis, which is fast becoming a live-work-play epicenter for the City of Coral Gables. 
• The new studio space is providing an optimal and aesthetically considered environment for our skilled team to continue to grow professionally and continue providing exceptional design services to our clients for another 20 years.

Meet the Design Team

Randi Rodriguez, Associate Principal 

Tati De Carvalho, Sr. Designer

Judy Zhou, Designer

Ian Tornquist, Associate Principal 

Elina Cardet, Principal

Dan Freed, Principal

Photography

Garrett Rowland Photography

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