Seeking to create a new, consistent concept for their large, headquarters facility in Chicago’s North Shore, W.W. Grainger reached out to Gary Lee Partners. With our focus on the many different user groups that make up the office, GLP created a comprehensive design vocabulary to map out the project’s many different areas, functions and adjacencies. 

Included in the design was improving an open, airy atrium space to bolster its use among employees as a space for both leisure and productivity. Accentuating an existing waterfall and skylights, GLP created a “front porch” feel to the center of the atrium with a wooden floor transition and furniture systems that encouraged both acoustic and visual privacy while still allowing employees to feel outdoors. 

GLP’s applied this consistent design language to both densify and refresh the workspace, which had not seen a major update since construction. Our designers studied each user group and provided tailored solutions, which included complimenting existing high-end millwork with modular, flexible furniture systems and coordinating the proximity of work functions to maximize productivity. To balance privacy considerations with close proximity, our designers installed felt walls and marker board screens between groups. Across the space, the design works not only to differentiate user groups, but also to provide wayfinding markers for the facility, whose floor plates are massive. 

The ongoing project has resulted in a series of flexible, clean areas optimized for business. This unified concept has also allowed our firm the vision and flexibility to work on additional projects for W.W. Grainger well into the future.