{"id":203627,"date":"2022-12-07T11:03:27","date_gmt":"2022-12-07T16:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=203627"},"modified":"2023-02-16T08:44:53","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T13:44:53","slug":"gensler-linkedin-office-omaha-nebraska","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/gensler-linkedin-office-omaha-nebraska\/","title":{"rendered":"Gensler Captures the Spirit of the Midwest for the LinkedIn Office in Omaha, Nebraska"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Another neighborhood\u2019s work area mixes a custom communal table, shelving, and graphics with Luca sofas by Luca Nichetto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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December 7, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Lauren Gallow<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Jason O\u2019Rear<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Gensler Captures the Spirit of the Midwest for the LinkedIn Office in Omaha, Nebraska<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

2022 Best of Year Winner<\/a> for Large Tech Office<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nebraska is not necessarily known as a destination for cutting-edge design and culture. However, the new Omaha office of LinkedIn, the professional networking giant with nearly a billion users, tapped into the deep-seated tradition of innovation and dynamism that has historically defined the Midwestern metropolis. \u201cFrom the beginning, there was an emphasis on making sure the decisions were an honest reflection of the city,\u201d LinkedIn senior design manager Virginia Alexander recalls. Longtime partner Gensler was a natural choice for the project, as LinkedIn has worked with the firm on interiors and branding for more than a dozen of the company\u2019s offices around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LinkedIn Omaha had been located in smaller, desperate-need-of-a-refresh quarters for 15 years. This project rep\u00adresents a major reboot not just for this outpost but also for the company\u2019s larger approach to workplace design. \u201cThe Omaha office was designed with the future in mind,\u201d begins Gensler design director and principal Kelly Dubisar, who led the project\u2019s interiors, along with fellow design director and principal Janice Cavaliere, who took charge of graphics and branding; both are from Gensler\u2019s San Francisco office. \u201cOmaha actually means to go against the current, according to local indigenous tribes,\u201d Cavaliere chimes in. It\u2019s this pioneering spirit that informed the firm\u2019s strategy across the new LinkedIn Omaha workplace, a pair of adjacent LEED Gold\u2013certified buildings that are five stories each and total 200,000 square feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is becoming a common tale for companies keeping pace with the realities of work today, where flexibility is the new watchword, LinkedIn<\/a> swapped the traditional assigned-workstation approach for one that\u2019s 100 percent free address. \u201cWe had piloted a neighborhood-based, open office model on single floors in previous properties,\u201d Dubisar explains. \u201cThe pandemic pushed LinkedIn to adopt that model as the starting point for all new sites.\u201d Teams from the Omaha staff of 1,000 are directed to 20- to 30-person neighborhoods containing a range of seating options supporting private individual work as well as small- and large-group collaboration. Instead of permanent desk space, daily-use lockers, phone booths, and deep-focus nooks help anchor people in their team areas. Typical floor plates, each defined by color, contain four neighborhoods; \u201crail cars,\u201d Dubisar notes, at junctions funnel employees into their dedicated zones, where custom shelves display mementos that express team identities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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In reception, a 5-foot-square company logo is set within a textured feature wall patterned with grainlike elements referencing the area\u2019s agricultural history. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How Employee Research Informed the LinkedIn Office Design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Concepting for the hybrid work experience was both a technical and a cultural challenge, so Gensler<\/a> and LinkedIn conducted research, surveys, and workshops with staffers to understand what made them tick, both professionally and personally. \u201cWe were challenged to consider how our designs and technology could make working more engaging and equi\u00adtable,\u201d Alexander says. Out of the discovery process came a host of amenities including a dynamic tech-ready team space for hybrid collaboration called the Lab, two libraries for heads-down focus work, recreation rooms with a golf simulator and rotating arcade games, music rooms, terraces, and a cafeteria called the Almanac, with revolving food kiosks and LinkedIn\u2019s first all-electric kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health, wellness, and resilience emer\u00adged as key themes, so in addition to an on-site fitness center and an outdoor roof deck, as well as incorporating no- or low-VOC materials<\/a> and finishes and only reclaimed or FSC\u2013certified timber, the campus contains four respite rooms sprinkled throughout. Ranging in size and design, the tech-free spaces have ambient light to support a variety of ways to re-energize mind and body. \u201cEveryone resets their brains differently,\u201d Dubisar says. \u201cSome need calming spaces, others something more tactile and hands-on. Rather than a generic \u2018wellness room,\u2019 we have different spaces so people can choose the one that fits them best.\u201d They also should help the project achieve its pending Fitwel 2 Star certification, along with a fire stair surrounded by bold graphics and with motivational phrases integrated into treads to encourage staff to take them instead of the elevator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the Omaha, Nebraska, campus of LinkedIn by Gensler, the two-story lobby combines ash-veneered millwork and leather and wool seating upholstery with a wall of whitewashed brick, a building material common in the region. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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See Interior Design\u2019s Best of Year Winners and Honorees<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Explore must-see projects and products that took home high honors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2022 WINNERS<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Office Culture Meets Local Culture <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The final theme to emerge was expressing Omaha\u2019s particularities of place. \u201cWe looked to the historical significance of craft in Omaha and the overall notion of going against the current,\u201d Cavaliere says. Civic storytelling begins in the two-story atrium lobby with a stair backed by a double-height wall of whitewashed brick, a traditional building material in Nebraska. Sculptures by Japan-born Omaha artist Jun Kaneko animate the welcome experience on the ground level, as do Gensler\u2019s integrated wall graphics and site-specific art installations that nod to Omaha\u2019s agrarian roots and contemporary culture. Conference-room graphics referencing the Max, a longstanding Omaha LGBTQIA+ nightclub, quickly became a LinkedIn staff favorite. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly meaningful for people to feel represented not just in their city but also their workplace,\u201d Cavaliere states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, this place-based narrative could be a stronger draw for employees to return to the office than more traditional amenities. \u201cThe purpose of the workplace today is to reinforce a sense of community and culture,\u201d Dubisar says. \u201cThe office should make you better and support the whole self. At the same time, it\u2019s a place for people to come together and strengthen relationships.\u201d As Linked\u00adIn\u2019s global real estate portfolio continues to grow, prioritizing personal expression and community connectivity in the workplace seems only fitting for a company that\u2019s staking its claim as the world\u2019s largest professional network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The ash veneer is reclaimed, which contributed to\u00a0the\u00a0project\u2019s LEED Gold certification. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Under an acoustics-improving felt-lined canopy, Isaac Pi\u00f1eiro\u2019s Tortuga lounge chairs populate the lobby\u2019s second-floor coffee bar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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An elevator lobby\u2019s custom graphics were inspired by what\u2019s called locally \u201ctanking down the Elkhorn,\u201d or\u00a0floating down the nearby Elkhorn River in retrofitted water tanks. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Max, a longtime LGBTQIA+ nightclub in Omaha, informed a conference room\u2019s graphics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In the cafeteria, a LED ceiling fixture continues the river theme.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Experiential branding extends to circulation routes, where wall graphics painted by Omaha nonprofit Make Art Studios Community Foundation and motivational phrases integrated into treads encourage staff to take the stairs, a criteria for the project\u2019s anticipated Fitwel 2 Star certification.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In another section of the cafeteria, Adrien Rovero\u2019s Parc pendant fixtures hang across from a moon mural that references the Old Farmer\u2019s Almanac, a seminal publication in the region\u2019s agricultural history.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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With a custom communal table in reclaimed ash, built-in banquettes, and Anthony Land\u2019s Yoom sectionals, a secondary canteen doubles as flex work space; flooring throughout is polished concrete. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Teams are separated into neighborhoods executed in fabric-wrapped panels,\u00a0carpet, and furniture, like the Norm Architects Harbour stools serving this free-address workstation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Another neighborhood\u2019s work area mixes a custom communal table, shelving, and graphics with Luca sofas by Luca Nichetto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Throughout the 200,000-square-foot, two-building project, Gensler created artful install\u00adations with reused materials that link to Omaha\u2019s identity, like this one with corn husks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
PROJECT TEAM<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Gensler<\/span><\/a>: randy howder; laura richardson; chad wyman; marissa everling; ben vela; chad spurlin; samantha lewis; jeffrey ding; fang fang, eric mortensen (interiors); jennifer hamilton; tiffany ricardo; jarrod holt; marie achterhof, Miriam Diaz, victoria chau, Brian newman (branding); Gail napell, nova punongbayan (sustainability advisors)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
tucci lighting<\/span><\/a>: lighting consultant<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
acrylicize<\/span><\/a>: signage<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
morrissey engineering<\/span><\/a>: mep<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
urban evolutions through imperial woodworking company<\/span><\/a>: millwork<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
lockwood construction<\/span><\/a>: general contractor<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
PRODUCT SOURCES<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
FROM FRONT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
glen-gery<\/span><\/a>: brick (lobby)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
carl hansen & s\u00f8n<\/span><\/a>: white chairs<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
muuto<\/span><\/a>: gray chairs (lobby), sofa (coffee bar)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
dum<\/span><\/a>: stools (lobby, coffee bar)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
grand rapids chair co.<\/span><\/a>: stools (reception, cafeteria)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
sancal<\/span><\/a>: lounge chairs (coffee bar)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Mattiazzi<\/span><\/a>: chairs<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Lindner<\/span><\/a>: ceiling mesh (elevator lobby)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
barbican<\/span><\/a>: ceiling fixtures (elevator lobby, cafeteria, neigh\u00adborhood)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
pinnacle lighting<\/span><\/a>: pendant fixtures (confererence room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
allermuir<\/span><\/a>: chairs<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
hollis + morris<\/span><\/a>: pendant fixtures (cafeteria)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
blu dot; de vorm; hightower<\/span><\/a>: chairs<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Lambert et Fils<\/span><\/a>: pendant fixtures<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
corral<\/span><\/a>: chairs (canteen)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
stylex<\/span><\/a>: sofas<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
menu<\/span><\/a>: stools (workstation)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
andlight<\/span><\/a>: downlights<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
kvadrat<\/span><\/a>: panel fabric<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
tretford<\/span><\/a>: carpet<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
bernhardt design<\/span><\/a>: sofas (neigh\u00adborhood)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
pair<\/span><\/a>: custom communal table, custom shelving<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
most modest<\/span><\/a>: lamp<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
FROM FRONT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Maharam<\/span><\/a>: seating fabric<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Moore & Giles<\/span><\/a>: seating upholstery<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
rad furniture<\/span><\/a>: custom tables<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
filzfelt<\/span><\/a>: felt<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
one workplace; two furnish<\/span><\/a>: furniture suppliers<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
er2<\/span><\/a>: custom graphics installation<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Benjamin Moore & Co.; Dunn-Edwards; Farrow & Ball; Sherwin-Williams Company<\/span><\/a>: paint<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n