When Prologis began planning its new office in Columbia, the design team focused on achieving several major goals: create a space that would enhance productivity, support changing workplace needs and capture the culture of the diverse markets the office would serve.
“Our market spans Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia, and we wanted our new office in Columbia to reflect these three unique places,” said Danielle Schline, Prologis Vice President, Market Officer for Baltimore/D.C. “We worked closely with our design firm to highlight local design and architectural elements, such as skylines of each city, classic black-and-white floor tiles and Robert McClintock artwork.”
Located in COPT’s Wayline building, the newly completed offices feature a rich mixture of brick walls, hardwood floors, cloud and exposed ceilings, myriad hanging light fixtures, full-wall images of Baltimore and Washington, and etched glass that stretches nearly from floor to ceiling. The array of casual, modern workspaces includes a lounge with a neon Natty Boh sign, a coffee bar with intricate orange tile, a recreation area with a golf simulator (that also plays football, baseball and hockey) and a line of diner-style booths snugged in below a dark, coved ceiling.
Small details help create the local, urban vibe.
“The string lights in our social area are reminiscent of the rooftop decks in Baltimore’s neighborhoods, restaurants and hotels,” Schline said.
“The design they created was amazing. It makes you feel like you are in a city center, high-rise building even though you are in Columbia,” said David Jaques, President of Partner Contracting, the general contractor for the renovation. “There’s one hallway that’s really a curved tunnel. It’s rare to see something like that in an office space, but it’s pretty cool.”
There is even a living wall. In the foyer, an irregularly shaped expanse of live plants appears to grow out from the surface of two brick walls.
The eye-catching, modern space is also expected to be highly functional when staff move in this fall.
“One of the goals with our new office was to enhance productivity for our team members and flex with their needs,” Schline said. “We invited our team members to provide input and, with their feedback, we incorporated more common areas for collaboration and teamwork. For example, we designed rooms and work areas that could be configured in different ways, to accommodate different work styles… As a logistics real estate company, our area of expertise isn’t office design. However, we are a people-first company, and we sought to design a space that could serve the needs of our team members.”