Contract - June 2013 - (Page 81)

photography: benny chan Photography by Benny Chan and Brian Miller In a Contract exclusive, the Steelcase VP of Global Design describes the center conceived with 2013 Designer of the Year Joey Shimoda Organizations today are under intense pressure to create smarter, more viable solutions for their customers. At Steelcase, we feel that same pressure, so we seek to leverage our physical spaces to build cohesion between our strategy, brand, and culture. We have been researching innovation since we were founded 101 years ago, and we applied these cumulative insights to our Steelcase Innovation Center, which we moved into this spring. Located on our main corporate campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this 325,000-square-foot reclaimed manufacturing space now serves as the office for 267 people involved in our innovation and product development process—researchers, engineers, designers, and marketers. Steelcase teamed once again with trusted collaborator Shimoda Design Group, led by Joey Shimoda, Contract’s 2013 Designer of the Year, on the design of this center, which functions akin to a sophisticated, human-centered workshop. Key global strategies drive the design The design intent for our new center was driven by key corporate strategies. First, we envisioned it as one node on a global system of innovation spaces for Steelcase. An important Steelcase strategy is to become even more globally integrated, therefore, we focus on leveraging our talent around the world. More than 75 percent of our projects are international, and we have Steelcase design teams and design partners throughout the world. We wanted to create a physical environment that would bring these teams together, fostering collaboration among people, whether they are working together in the same building or across continents. This approach challenges the notion that innovation requires people to all be in the same place and allows us to leverage a geographically diverse team. Another key strategy is to increase our “I.Q.”—our innovation quotient. We know that innovation is a very physical process. I often say that we wanted to create a place where we could make and break contract

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - June 2013

Contract - June 2013
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Columnist: Making the Decision to Respond to an RFP
Exhibition: HD Expo 2013
Product Focus: Suzanne Tick Joins Forces with Teknion
Product Focus: Rattan in the Round
NeoCon® preview
Trailblazing Project Delivery
Steelcase Innovation Center
Giant Pixel
Concrete
Sierra Pacific Constructors
United Nations Trusteeship Council Chamber
Designers Select: Seating
Sources
Ad Index
Detail: A Chair so Comfortable it Just Might Contribute to World Peace

Contract - June 2013