14 SIGNATURE CITY: City of Palm Beach Gardens l pbgfl.com14 SIGNATURE CITY: City of Palm Beach Gardens l pbgfl.com

T H E F R E E P L A N thinking

THIS PAGE: Not quite a board room and definitely not formal. Collaborative

workspaces like this one at the offices of Levatas make team projects

more productive.

OPPOSITE PAGE (larger photo): Noise concerns in large, open areas like

these are addressed by a white noise system throughout the facility.

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You pass them every day, but are likely unaware of the buzz going on behind the reflective glass. They are prevalent in Palm Beach Gar-dens where corporate headquar-ters sprout like banyan tree vines.

If you haven’t guessed yet, we’re talking about offices.

As the American business world has evolved, so have the spaces in which workers are expected to be productive. Employee workspace has most certainly evolved as the business environment has changed. The journey has led from the carrel desk to cubicles to a phenomenon that is quickly finding its place in Palm Beach Gardens: The Open-Office Plan.

Most famously adopted by Google, the Open-Office Plan is one that employs large, open spaces and mini-

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mizes the use of small, individual private offices. Other common features include flexibility in the use of space with movable elements such as screens and furniture, as well as incorporating natural light and a lively color palette. The Open-Office Plan is based on ideas found in the work of U.S. architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, who called it "Le plan libre"… The Free Plan.

Of this concept, Google says, “When you want people to think creatively and push the boundaries of what’s possible, their workspace shouldn’t be a drab maze of beige cubicles. Our offices have become well known for their innovative, fun and – some might say – wacky design.”

The model has caught on worldwide, and today Palm Beach Gardens is home to a number of (continues)

b y C a n d i c e Te m p l e

16 SIGNATURE CITY: City of Palm Beach Gardens l pbgfl.com

businesses that have implemented an open-office plan similar to that made famous by Google. Most recently, Dycom Industries opened a new 50,000 sq. ft. facil-ity in the Northcorp Business Park. The Palm Beach Gardens headquartered com-pany, whose shares grew by 98 percent in 2015, specializes in engineering and con-struction infrastructure services for the tele-phone and cable industry.

As one of the project leads, Christen Lockamy, a Business Analyst for Dycom with a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology, says the

company got the idea to embark on an open workspace model when it began exploring the different work styles within its office.

“We interviewed a sample set of employees to better understand how they work and how they differed from one team to the next,” said Christen. “Overall, we discov-ered that many of the daily tasks we perform involve frequent collaboration and commu-nication. What better way to reflect and facilitate that style than to develop a space that encourages this behavior?”

And encourage they did! With the expertise and enthusiasm of Synalovski, Romanik & Saye Design, the finished product boasts an innovative approach to meeting spaces with well researched, multifunctional use. Conferencing hubs give employees seating

options for sitting or standing and offer tech savvy solutions such as conference rooms that will allow staff to easily telecommute and share project ideas. The one-story space is divided into three themes; each with ener-gy reflecting a city’s Downtown, Midtown, and Uptown districts.

Seeing its start in a garage and now expand-ed into two spaces at Downtown at the Gar-dens, Levatas is a marketing and advertising company that has seen the benefits of work-ing in a non-traditional office space. The group did much of its own design work,

from sketching to choosing textiles, and used architect Francis Lussier of Stephen Boruff Associates and Sisca Construction to make it all happen.

“We strongly feel that open office environ-ments are the right approach for agencies like us,” says the company’s founding part-ner and CEO Chris Nielsen. “We stayed up to speed on trends in our industry and gen-eral trends for companies that almost exclu-sively employ knowledge workers. It was important to us to make sure we were select-ing a layout and approach to our workspace that best met the needs of our teams.”

Not completely unexpected, cowork-ing spaces can come with challenges. According to the companies interviewed, employees often note privacy and noise as

a concern when transitioning to this new office environment.

“That’s not to say that there aren’t the occa-sional frustrations with it,” says Nielsen. “Chatter amongst team members can be helpful as they work or interact socially, but can be a distraction to others within earshot. Fortunately, Levatas employees have a high degree of mutual respect for one another, which means that these occurrences are the exception, not the rule.”

Dycom’s internal team dedicated one year to the planning process and researched solutions to address privacy, such as pro-viding optional space away from common areas for employees to brainstorm and collaborate without restraint. Throughout the facility a “white noise” system creates a buffer to conversations for those con-centrating on their work. There is also a library that creates a zero noise zone, allowing employees to escape into com-plete solitude, as needed.

IMG also acknowledges that while their team has transitioned well into the new office space and enjoys the tremendous views from the eighth floor, there have been challenges.

“We experience the same challenges oth-er open-space offices face, from sound to limited privacy issues. On occasion, with the open floor plan, there are times when it is difficult to separate the distractions when focus is critical,” offered the com-pany’s Director of Marketing Bill Decker, but the benefits are also apparent. “We have seen more interaction and collabora-tion between the various team members, and it has enhanced productivity and communication.

With the trend growing in Palm Beach Gardens, it seems the fit is really related to the type of work employees are conduct-ing in the space. When asked if he miss-es working in a “traditional” office space Levatas’ Nielsen gives an emphatic “Nope.”

ABOVE LEFT: This isn’t your father’s break room. Dycom’s new café creates a relaxing atmosphere for employees that allows ample room, especially for those company potlucks. RIGHT: A common feature found in open office layouts are spaces created for play. Two Levatas employees decompress with some gaming.