There’s a common misconception that the workspaces for occupations without any glitz or glamour are unattractive. We want to dispel that myth. The Office Furniture Works team recently had the opportunity to assist the management team at a Korean-based manufacturer of automotive trimmings for car manufacturers worldwide with commercial furniture for their U.S. headquarters in Chattanooga, TN.
Objectives
The Space
The manufacturer’s operation outgrew the space occupied in Cleveland, TN. To accommodate anticipated growth, they recently relocated their US headquarters in Chattanooga, TN. The new space is a 56,000 sq. ft. facility in East Chattanooga, approximately 80% of which is designated for production. The manufacturer renovated the adjacent spaces to house the management & administrative teams.
The People
The production team, which make up the bulk of the facility’s population, are stationed in different positions throughout the warehouse portion of the facility. The operation space has both dedicated workspaces for production and employees that are fully mobile. The production team shares a break room with the rest of the employees, meaning the space needs to accommodate the entire facility. The management & administrative teams are distributed among private offices and open-plan workspace. They share a conference room and want another, less formal option for collaborative work space.
Commercial Furniture Solutions
Open Workspace
To accommodate the growing U.S. staff of non-production employees, we installed a group of benching desks. Nine workstations are arranged in three rows, with two rows sharing a common frame and one row along the wall. Each workstation is comprised of a 72″ x 30″ work surface, mobile file cabinet & 36″ storage hutch. The storage hutch between occupants provides a degree of visual privacy from individuals seated next to each other, while a privacy screen creates a barrier between those seated across from each other. The benching system is complemented by two café height tables and a row of storage cabinets. The break room tables offer an option for quick collaboration away from the team, while the storage cabinets allow the workspace to stay as light as it is.
Shared Spaces
The reception area is outfitted with a curved reception desk and a number of items that are right on the resimercial trend. First in the hallway of partitioned office spaces is the conference room, with an 8-person boardroom table outfitted with two power modules to accommodate remote conferencing needs. At the threshold between the administrative and production areas, the employee break room is set in a space with plentiful natural lighting. Seating for twenty-one can be stacked neatly away when the whole staff needs to be in the space.
Results
Thanks for Reading!
Commercial furniture is more than a commodity – it’s a process.
At Office Furniture Works, we’re here to help you out at any point in that process. Need someone to walk you through, step-by-step? Our staff can handle every aspect of design, planning, installation & service. Already working with some fantastic people? Perfect – we can interface with architects, designers and other contractors to seamlessly coordinate with their efforts. We have lots of question, but we’ll start with this one – would you like to work together?