Business of the Week: Atmosphere Commercial Interiors

​Atmosphere Commercial Interiors partners with clients to design and furnish spaces that are easy to manage, affordable, provide places for communities to grow, and support individual needs. Our solutions can also help resolve common workplace issues such as employee engagement, technology changes, and workforce diversity.
 
Workplace issues provide a unique opportunity to learn more about our clients’ corporate cultures and organizational purpose. We use this information during the design and specification process to ensure that the workplace creates conditions for success.

​Leading by Example
 
Our journey through this process recently resulted in a fully renovated headquarters WORKLAB in downtown Minneapolis and refreshed our showrooms in Madison and DePere. We redesigned the spaces using a Best Place strategy that accommodates our unique need to move throughout varied spaces several times per day.
 
Our business centers around teams and partnerships, and we need to transition fluidly between creative and collaborative work. “Our WORKLABs provide the ability to move between individual time and collaborative time, having that rhythm between coming together to think about a problem, and then taking time to allow those ideas to mature,” says Carlene Wilson, President and CEO.
 
As we were re-thinking our spaces, we applied the same tools and methods we use with our clients – meaning a focus that is first and foremost about the user’s experience. We analyzed our team members’ informal networks, gauged employee satisfaction with their current work environment using surveys and sought input on the workspaces needed now and in the future.
​ 
“We believe organizations can increase engagement and drive growth by providing thoughtfully curated destinations designed to fuel creativity and innovation. Our WORKLABs showcase how people and the physical environment are enriched by purpose, and how a culture of creativity can give organizations a competitive edge,” says Wilson.

​We Blurred the Edges
 
Throughout our WORKLABs you’ll find art, ergonomic furniture and biophilia to stimulate employee wellness, and innovative technology that invites collaboration. The overall aesthetic of the spaces relies heavily on the resimercial trend, which ‘blurs the edges of the traditional office to create places people love to work,’ a concept championed by Steelcase.
 
The Only Constant is Change
 
Collaboration and creativity are critical to giving organizations the edge they need to stay competitive in today’s business environment. Disruptors such as technology and mobility, and issues such as a lack of employee engagement are challenging leaders to lead in new ways.
 
The new generation of workers places a premium on choice and control, mobility, and making connections online and offline. Our clients want their spaces to channel their brand and unique benefits to encourage engagement, and support recruiting efforts yet be resilient against the fluidity of the business landscape, headcount shifts and evolving generational differences.
 
Experiment and Flourish
 
Our new WORKLABs are designed to reflect Atmosphere’s culture and brand. The spaces feel truly shared by all inhabitants, creating a sense of access to leaders, and providing a feeling of community support, where co-workers are encouraged to interact regardless of discipline.
 
Future-Proofed
 
To accommodate diverse work modes, Atmosphere enacted a resilient real estate strategy, transitioning to a 50/50 split between Resident and Nomadic desking. People are encouraged to work wherever they feel most productive. This approach conveys the cultural support for experimentation, creativity, and innovation needed to drive the business forward.

Smart Space
 
Occupancy tools were added as a resource to help team members easily locate open workspaces. A real-time sensor system is connected to monitors that display maps of occupied and unoccupied areas, which are used to study usage patterns and analyze underutilized workspaces. “Putting data behind office occupancy ratios will allow us to increase operational efficiency,” says Jason Lund, Director, Information Technology.
 
“Using objective occupancy data to understand usage trends in a client’s workspace allows us to quickly identify opportunities and propose solutions that will make their space more cost-effective and their teams more efficient. The potential savings for our clients are huge, as our analysis of this data paired with our team’s insights into solving workplace issues helps us both identify and prioritize solutions with the greatest potential ROI in real estate costs and the engagement + productivity of their teams.”
 
Integrated Technology
 
Atmosphere also provided WiFi access throughout our facilities, dual monitors for high task-oriented work, and installed Microsoft Surface Hubs which allow employees to be creative and collaborate on the fly.
 
Connect the Dots
 
Atmosphere embraced the shift from conventional to creative to give our team members an inspiring work environment that fosters collaboration and innovative thinking, and connects the dots between our people, place, and purpose.
 
Contact our team in Eau Claire to learn how we can discover, plan, and deliver the right solution for your space and your organization.
 
Bonnie Krahn
bonnie.krahn@atmosphereci.com
715.379.2073
 
Laura Kegel
laura.kegel@atmosphereci.com
920.593.9441
 
About Atmosphere Commercial Interiors
 
For over 60 years, Atmosphere Commercial Interiors has partnered with leading organizations to create inspiring, high performing workspaces. We are proud to serve organizations around the globe of every size, from start-up to Fortune 500, and across corporate, healthcare, education, and hospitality industries. In addition, our focus on innovation and inspired solutions guides our partnerships with architecture and design, real estate and development, and technology industries.
 
With Steelcase, a global leader in workplace products and research, our comprehensive portfolio of products and services brings our clients’ spaces to life. In recognition of our ability to deliver the highest quality products, services and client experience, we are pleased to be a multi-year recipient of the distinguished Steelcase Platinum Partner Award.
 
Headquartered in Minneapolis, with offices in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Arizona, we are embedded deeply in our communities and passionate about providing world-class workspaces.
 
www.atmosphereci.com
​