Designing cohesive aesthetic Sidley Austin Project   OM Workspace brings elegance, functionality to international law firm.   Project Specs Location: Chicago office Space: 550,000 sq. ft. Personnel: 1,200 Floors: 20½ Workstations: 450 Private offices: 200

Situation

Sidley Austin LLP, an international law firm, faced a significant design challenge when it consolidated its two Chicago offices into a new building. Prior to the move, the firm’s 1,200 personnel worked in separate locations that lacked a cohesive look and unified furnishings. The new, larger office space, stretching to 20½ floors, allowed Sidley to unite its employees in the same building.

Sidley chose Gensler design firm in Washington, D.C., to design a space that would take advantage of natural light and increase opportunities for communication among personnel. The law firm wanted to provide its most important asset — its employees — with a spacious, comfortable and durable workspace, without compromising its goals of practicality and elegance.

Challenges

OM Workspace needed to help translate Gensler’s design for the 450 administrative staff workstations, 200 interior private offices for administrative and paraprofessional staff, and the retired partner offices.

To add to the complexity of this 20½-floor installation, the team had to also compensate for sloping floors in certain areas of the building, which created awkward base trim gaps under workstations.

Solutions 

OM Workspace worked with furniture manufacturer Teknion, which created custom base trim extensions that compensated for the sloping floor. This allowed the team to level the workstations without compromising the overall aesthetic.

These spacious, open-area Teknion workstations include abundant cabinet storage space and convenient overhead compartments. The stations’ sound-absorbing panels offer an attractive look and feel along with a sense of privacy,

while customized glass panels at the top of the workstation allow natural light to fill the space. Beyond aesthetic appeal, the workstations chosen also are flexible. Panels can be reused and reconfigured for future growth or organizational needs, providing Sidley Austin substantial cost savings.

Private offices complement the workstations, using furnishings from a variety of Teknion product lines. This allowed the design team to achieve a rich, professional look at an affordable cost.

The design includes wood desks and countertops and custom-built overhead shelving with metal undersurface filing that matches the workstation finishes.

For Sidley, the result of working with OM Workspace and Gensler is a refined, functional workspace — delivered within budgetary and time constraints — that is both spacious and comfortable for the firm’s greatest asset: its employees.

The installation was so successful that Sidley is using the design as a standard for its other office locations around the country.