flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Ferrara Candy Company gets new HQ space in Chicago’s Old Post Office building

Office Buildings

Ferrara Candy Company gets new HQ space in Chicago’s Old Post Office building

NELSON Worldwide designed the project.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | October 23, 2019

All photos: Farm Kid Studios

Ferrara Candy Company’s new headquarters space in Chicago’s Old Post Office building was designed to accommodate the company’s growth and flexibility and provide more meeting and conference spaces to encourage collaboration and information sharing.

The office’s floor plan is laid out with a singular path to create a feeling of connectedness between the divided “neighborhoods.” Each neighborhood is equipped with small- and large-scale conference rooms, huddle rooms, and open collaboration spaces. Workstations are scattered throughout to provide employees better access to each other and to natural light.

 

Ferrara Candy headquarters

 

Industrial metal frames are used as space dividers and are infilled with whiteboards and felt panels that serve as tools to encourage brainstorming and innovation. Exposed sightlines encourage a more open and transparent culture, while huddle rooms and private offices give options for privacy and concentration. A cafe space can be transformed throughout the day from a coffee bar and informal meeting area to a happy hour or event venue after hours.

 

See Also: IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union headquarters completes construction

 

The design takes care to maintain the historic Old Post Office building’s industrial nature by accentuating the 18-foot-tall ceilings, two vintage mail chutes, and two package scales.

 

Ferrara Candy headquarters boardroom

Related Stories

Sponsored | | Oct 23, 2014

From slots to public safety: Abandoned Detroit casino transformed into LEED-certified public safety headquarters

First constructed as an office for the Internal Revenue Service, the city's new public safety headquarters had more recently served as a temporary home for the MGM Casino. SPONSORED CONTENT

| Oct 23, 2014

China's 'weird' buildings: President Xi Jinping wants no more of them

During a literary symposium in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged architects, authors, actors, and other artists to produce work with "artistic and moral value."

| Oct 22, 2014

Customization is the key in tomorrow's workplace

The importance of mobility, flexibility, and sustainability in the world of corporate design are already well-established. A newer trend that’s gaining deserved attention is customizability, and how it will look in the coming years, writes GS&P's Leith Oatman.

| Oct 16, 2014

Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials

The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.

| Oct 15, 2014

Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities

The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.” 

| Oct 14, 2014

Proven 6-step approach to treating historic windows

This course provides step-by-step prescriptive advice to architects, engineers, and contractors on when it makes sense to repair or rehabilitate existing windows, and when they should advise their building owner clients to consider replacement. 

| Oct 13, 2014

The mindful workplace: How employees can manage stress at the office

I have spent the last several months writing about healthy workplaces. My research lately has focused on stress—how we get stressed and ways to manage it through meditation and other mindful practices, writes HOK's Leigh Stringer.

Sponsored | | Oct 13, 2014

CLT, glulam deliver strength, low profile, and aesthetics for B.C. office building

When he set out to design his company’s new headquarters building on Lakeshore Road in scenic Kelowna, B.C., Tim McLennan of Faction Projects knew quickly that cross-laminated timber was an ideal material. 

| Oct 12, 2014

AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030. 

| Oct 9, 2014

Regulations, demand will accelerate revenue from zero energy buildings, according to study

A new study by Navigant Research projects that public- and private-sector efforts to lower the carbon footprint of new and renovated commercial and residential structures will boost the annual revenue generated by commercial and residential zero energy buildings over the next 20 years by 122.5%, to $1.4 trillion.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Sustainable Design and Construction

Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure

Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.


MFPRO+ News

San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown. 

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021