Spagnolo Gisness & Associates, an architecture, interior design, planning, and environmental graphics firm based out of Boston recently shared their 2013 year in review, an overview of lessons, accolades, and charitable gestures.
Philanthropy
This year, Spagnolo Gisness & Associates had the pleasure of supporting a number of local non-profits and participated in a various community building efforts.
The annual Bio-Ball basketball tournament kicked off the year as an opportunity to support the Special Olympics of Massachusetts and promote the tremendous work that it does. This is a one day basketball tournament involving 16 local biotech pharma companies teamed with 16 Special Olympics basketball teams. SG&A has been a sponsor and participant for the past three years.
As the year progressed, SG&A took its volunteering efforts outside as the warmer weather came and spring was in bloom. During the first warm weather event, SG&A teamed up with City Sprouts, a non-profit organization that implements not only resource-rich gardens for public elementary schools in Cambridge, but also integrates this education within the curriculum for the students. SG&A’s team went to the King Open School in Cambridge to get its hands dirty and maintain the garden. The work included putting up new fencing, weeding various plant beds, and painting new signs to teach the students the variances of each vegetable.
During the summer SG&A reached out to the local non-profit, On The Rise, which was founded on the ideal of creating a community for homeless women in need as they discover new possibilities. SG&A was able to organize various donations that the house received, including toiletries and clothing, in preparation for the following days. This eye-opening experience taught the volunteers how a non-profit can offer an incredible amount of support to a community in need.
In the fall SG&A volunteered at Gaining Ground’s organic farm. This non-profit organization focuses on growing produce to provide hunger relief in Greater Boston’s shelters, food pantries, and meal programs. The team rolled up its sleeves and learned about the different produce on the farm, cleaned the raspberry beds and mulched both blueberry and rhubarb plants as the harvest season was coming to an end.
As this year comes to a close, SG&A will be involved in various donation drives to further help those in the local communities.
Awards
SG&A continues to make strides in award winning design. SG&A’s progressive interior office design for Black Duck Software and Communispace received awards for the 2013 IIDA and CoreNET competitions. Black Duck Software received the 2013 CoreNET award for best project under 50,000 SF. This project was centered around the employee experience, utilizing creative space solutions and furniture selections to achieve the highest level of design on schedule and on budget. Black Duck Software’s new 30,000 SF office is all about the employees. Finishes, furnishings, color, and graphics become the perfect platform to express the duality of the brand and its personality. In an effort to encourage collaboration and foster a sense of community, the design team carefully strategized the balance of “we space” versus “me space.” By co-locating the game room, café and meeting areas with the main reception zone, SG&A was able to provide a centralized hub of activity for breaks, collaboration and dining.
SG&A’s design for Communispace also received the 2013 IIDA award for best office over 80,000 SF. Located at the new Atlantic Wharf section of downtown Boston, Communispace utilizes the perfect equilibrium of space and location. The 83,000 sf, two floor space features an open floor plan to inspire constant collaboration amongst team members. With no enclosed offices, employees of all levels can easily interact, allowing collaboration amongst team members to become an accessible and integral piece of the office workflow. The new space also features a progressive furniture and technology selection. Media Scape + Room Wizard technology from RedThread provides both effective tools for meetings, workflow organization and constant connectivity amongst employees. SG&A incorporated the concept of collective collaboration throughout the space to achieve the most applicable design to accommodate Communispace’s mission, workflow and opportunity for growth.
