Kincentric
Minneapolis, MN | Adaptive Reuse, Commercial, Workspace
Engaging new offices for professional people-people
Kincentric provides human resources consulting to optimize company culture, employee engagement, leadership development, and on issues of diversity, equity & inclusion.
After a couple years of working remotely due to the Covid pandemic, they decided to consolidate their offices and asked RoehrSchmitt to help them imagine a flexible post-Covid workspace that would serve the needs of a new hybrid workforce that could work from anywhere, but would also benefit from a place to touch down, meet clients, and congregate.
We designed this new office to take maximum advantage of the warmth and character of the 19th century industrial space they’d selected for the move. Approaching the design with a light touch, we mostly sought to stay out of the way of the lofty, raw brick industrial shell, adding just enough structure and graphic accents to articulate the programmatic elements and provide clear, intuitive wayfinding.
While the ceilings were left predominantly open to structure, we added a series of ceiling clouds marching in rhythm to the structural bays of the long, open work room to temper the acoustics and provide effective diffusers for a gentle, indirect illumination. The repetition of elements through the open office are reinforced by the rhythm of the trains that pass by just outside this historic industrial space several times a day.
The rich, blue palette of the company brand was serendipitously the ideal complement to the oranges, browns, and yellows of the historic brick and timber enclosure, and naturally lent itself to use as cool accents throughout the space. Only at the main entry to the space is this order inverted, with the reception area washed floor, walls, and ceiling in waves of several blues, creating an indelible, immersive introduction to the office.
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2018 Merit Award Winner
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PROJECT PHOTOS BY GILBERTSON PHOTOGRAPHY