Spotlight: Giant Bicycles Leads the Pack in Workplace Transformations
When you think of riding a bicycle, you think of adventure— being free and one with nature. The team at Giant Bicycles’ corporate office in Thousand Oaks wanted to incorporate this idea of being in nature when they set out to revive their existing space.
There were many aspects of the workspace that the company wanted to change. The workspace was not compatible for future growth in the company. From the brown carpets, dated fluorescent overhead lighting and dreary wall paints, the space was lacking energy & excitement.
The Pacific Office Interiors team, Mindi Faris, account director, Alyssa Belluzzi, account associate, and Amanda Boyce, studio lead, were all involved in the development of the project. This project required space planning, spanning from bubble diagrams and finish selections to 3D renderings, with numerous meetings in between.
Three color schemes were created for the client to select from, which opened up a wonderful opportunity to involve Giant Bicycle’s entire team, effectively amping up the excitement for their office’s face lift. POI was also able to work directly with the contractor to design a creative solution involving dropped ceilings. These delineated the expanded space, adding collaborative areas for each department.
The new office— which includes fresh earth tones, engaging graphics, and a bright and modern break area—dramatically speaks to a well selected slogan from the Giant Bicycle website that “every road has its own personality.” Taking into consideration that many of the employees at Giant ride their bicycles to the office, POI incorporated a concrete pathway in the new office, weaving between stations to add further definition to each department. This solved not only the obvious dilemma of soiling brand new carpet, but served the original design intent of being one with nature.
Giant’s employees feel their workspace is dramatically improved. Each individual has more storage, larger work surfaces, and glass accents to provide a blend of access and privacy.
One of their favorite details in their new space is the Allermuir Ad-Lib Work Lounge. The Ad-Lib promotes casual seating while providing enough space for a laptop or notebook. Its folding work tray feature allows them to use the chair as a basic meeting room seat as well.
Reuben Hernandez, the National Retail Services Manager at Giant Bicycle said “From the first day…to our final set up and delivery, we felt confident we made the best choice in working with the POI team. We had ideas from various internal teams at Giant. What we appreciated about POI’s team, is that they were always there to provide functional and realistic points of view about the furniture and office layout options.”
The new office environment has accomplished their goal of an improved workspace design & flow. According to Hernandez, everyone is energized in the office and the space encourages conversation between departments. They have more meals together in the new kitchen, and have since requested additional tables and seating, due to the increased use of the common space.
Returning visitors of Giant Bicycles can’t believe it’s the same space. Visitors have been quoted as saying, “this space is so cool and professional,” “It’s simple, modern and not overdone,” and “I want to work in this office!”
