equally well for web developers as for attorneys, and have a compelling modern aesthetic. âWe wanted to make anyone pr
P R O J E C T
P R O F I L E
CO-MERGE WORKPLACE {SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA }
“Really, it’s the furniture that makes the room. The furniture is the decoration.” Michael Kenny, President, Co-Merge Workplace
CHALLENGE
Where others saw a nondescript building on the verge of needing to be torn down, Michael Kenny saw an opportunity to create Co-Merge Workplace, a vibrant, modern shared workspace in the heart of San Diego’s financial district. Kenny, who worked out of a home office at the time, was inspired by co-working spaces he had seen in Bellevue, WA, and Chicago, but he envisioned something much more than a meeting space. He wanted to create an innovative and interesting workplace that was productive, comfortable, and unique. More than just a place to get work done, he wanted Co-Merge to foster networking, collaboration, and education for its members, many of whom might otherwise be isolated in home offices. The environment also needed to be versatile and able to accommodate a wide variety of workers, types of businesses, and team sizes. The furniture needed to work equally well for web developers as for attorneys, and have a compelling modern aesthetic. “We wanted to make anyone proud to bring a client here,” says Kenny.
SOLUTION
GAINS
For Kenny, the key to creating the flexible, productive environment he envisioned was the furniture. “We were lucky to be able to design from the ground up on how it would be used and what rooms we wanted to have. We basically started with furniture and worked our way around the space, because the furniture enables the different workstyles we want to support,” he says.
The San Diego Architectural Foundation recognized Co-Merge with an Orchid Award for adaptive reuse; the honor was bestowed on just 13 of more than 140 nominated projects. One juror called it “the next generation of work environments,” and the foundation praised Co-Merge for creating a physical space that encourages use, as well as its sustainable design.
Using a variety of Allsteel products, Kenny and his team created several work zones in the roughly 9,000-square-foot building including areas specifically designed for collaboration, training, and individual heads-down work. “I’m very impressed with the Allsteel furniture,” Kenny says. “I work in it all day long, and it’s comfortable, sturdy, and attractive.”
“The whole goal was to be environmentally sustainable,” Kenny says, and Stride’s sustainably minded design was important to him and his team because even though they weren’t seeking LEED® certification, they wanted everything designed to be as “green” as possible.
FE AT U R E D P R O D U C T S
Stride® panels, desking, and benching, Stride, Persona™, and Essentials™ storage, Merge® and Get Set® tables, #19®, Acuity®, Relate®, Sum®, Seek™, and Inspire™ seating, Gunlocke® Converge™ casegoods
CO-MERGE WORKPLACE { SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA } E XPERIENCE
Co-Merge’s new workspace has proven compelling and invigorating to a wide range of people, attracting real estate agents and sales representatives, attorneys, accountants, web developers and programmers, and a host of freelancers. But it’s not just the self-employed who find the space useful; larger companies are finding it a cost-effective way to office employees. “We’ve had hundreds through the space, and we’re getting very, very positive feedback from those who are using the space,” says Kenny. “Stride is beautiful and unique-looking, yet is solid, functional, and works just how we want it to. This is nice-looking furniture that’s artistic in itself.”
“I was happy from the very beginning with what Allsteel had to offer. We never needed to look elsewhere.” Michael Kenny, President, Co-Merge Workplace
For more information about Allsteel solutions, please visit allsteeloffice.com.
Allsteel Inc. Muscatine, Iowa 52761-5257 allsteeloffice.com Form # A8135 (05/14)
Printed in USA
This FSC-certified paper contains 10% post-consumer recycled content.
©2014 Allsteel Inc. #19, Acuity, Allsteel, Get Set, Merge, Relate, Stride and Sum are registered trademarks and Essentials, Inspire, Persona and Seek are trademarks. Gunlocke is a registered trademark. Converge is a trademark of Gunlocke. Indoor Advantage is a trademark of SCS Global Services. LEED is a registered trademark of the U.S. Green Building Council. level is a registered trademark of BIFMA International.
Allsteel supports green initiatives in the contract furniture industry as a member of the U.S. Green Building Council. All Allsteel products are SCS Indoor Advantage™ or Indoor Advantage Gold certified and level® 2 certified.
