AT WORK

When a top advertising firm asks a top design firm for a creative space for its creative team, expect an unusual flow of ideas and design.

True creative geniuses may be able to turn on their creativity in any setting, even one very ho-hum. But imagine what can happen when a creative design firm is hired to fashion an environment for a group of creative advertising gurus.

The work process and results become easier, more productive and also more rewarding amid a setting of flexible, colorful spaces with edgy materials and varied lighting, whether the work is solitary or collaborative.

After more than 25 years in its Chicago headquarters building at 35 W. Wacker Dr., the way in which the creative staff at Leo Burnett Worldwide (www.leoburnett.com) worked had changed. One of the country's oldest and most prominent advertising firms with clientele as varied and prestigious as Allstate, Hallmark, Nintendo, Burnett was founded by namesake Leo Burnett in 1935, during the height of the Great Depression.

But in recent years, work no longer was work done primarily by individuals who toiled alone in private offices and sometimes together. Instead, collaboration became the norm. Yet at the same time, flexibility was needed so that staff sometimes could think in private and other times be joined by colleagues.

In addition, three floors were being condensed to two, which meant there was going to be the same number of people but in less space. "All of the space therefore had to be great," says Nick Luzietti of VOA Associates Inc. in Chicago (www.voa.com), the project's design principal. Before the firm won the job, VOA team members exhibited their own brand of creativity. "We played music by The Every Brothers and from the Love Boat show and wore gold velour jackets with leopard skin lapels. We wanted to show we knew how to think creatively out of the box, too," says Luzietti.

Private offices on both the 26th and 27th floors were eliminated and a variety of open work zones were constructed and furnished with work stations or tables and comfortable chairs to allow ideas to spur creative juices. But zones also weren't overly furnished or totally wide open.

Besides encouraging both privacy and openness, the goal was to let employees make their own changes in the same way that residential homeowners can partition, furnish and later rearrange a loft when the whim hits or their needs change, says Luzietti. "We wanted to build in some room for disrespect and allow staff to take liberties with their offices by bringing furnishings from home if they wanted, which many had previously done," he says.

Sowoon Park, a senior VOA interior designer who also worked on the Burnett project, compares the new offices to a blank canvas. "We wanted to give employees a space where they could draw or create whatever they wanted to do," she says.

To set the mood, bold colors were selected for the background with the Leo Burnett branded palette of green, silver, black and white used in the 27th-floor lobby area off the elevator bank, along with a large photographic poster of the Marlboro Man, an ad the company created 54 years ago. For the edginess desired, a concrete floor was picked and painted.

Along a hallway that leads from the elevator lobby to offices, the concrete changes to large rectangles of carpet tile for some softness. In a "business" area off the lobby, a conference room provides an example of an open, flexible space creative team members and company colleagues can use together-or alone-and at a choice of seating groupings: a pair of comfortable upholstered armless chairs on each side of a coffee table or classic Eames chairs set around a round table.

In other areas, creative directors can work alone at large tables that enjoy a bit of privacy because of plywood panels that also function as a place to tack billboards of favorite ads or other inspirations. "There are times when they need to work on client-sensitive materials under wraps," says Paula Lutz, a VOA project manager who also worked on the job and served as a liaison with Burnett. Yet, these areas, too, are not totally closed off and their side walls consist of cubbies where work can be stashed or people can sit. Additional plywood panels, here angled, separate work areas and add some punch.

Still another type of work space consists of more communal work stations lined up in a row with overhead storage cubbies providing some privacy, as well as punches of different colors on the backs of the cubbies. These stations are also set close enough together so staff can pass work among them without getting up, says Lutz.

On the 26th floor, an "Energy" room offers a large space where team members come together, collaborate and unwind particularly after long, late-night work sessions. The room includes beverage dispensers, a bold red counter with stools and fuzz ball machine.

On both floors, high ceilings were left exposed to further the idea of a raw loft look, with acoustical softening achieved through the choice of other materials such as carpet tile and upholstery, says Lutz. Lighting was designed to be altered by attaching colored gel lenses to lamps. Now that the project is completed, it's not uncommon to see staff members zoom by on scooters.

The designers are pleased that the end result gave the client the flexibility they sought over their environment." This setting empowers occupants to make the spaces theirs and show disrespect for the traditional business model. They can charter their own path to creativity," says Luzietti.

Abby Lovett, global public relations manager for Burnett, was also pleased that the results reflect the same level of respect for high design and quality important to Leo Burnett from the company's start. "When Leo opened the agency during the Great Depression, he gave away apples on the reception desk for free, which was unheard of at the time. It set him apart. As the company grew, he always paid attention to the design details, using his signature Alpha 245 pencils, outfitting the offices with designer furniture -- he believed that it all communicated something about the quality of our agency's work. And, it continues to matter to us today," she says.

With creativity and flexibility so palpable on these floors, it's logical to wonder if noncreative team members are a tad envious of their less edgy quarters. "I don't think so," says Luzietti, laughing. "They're probably happy to be working like normal people in a normal setting!"i4