Located in Hammond, Indiana in a recently completed commercial office building, the Federal Community Defenders Office buildout was guided by the client’s vision to create a work environment that was inspiring, light filled and modern.  The open plan is organized around a circular reception desk that was accentuated by a circular floating ceiling and complementary light fixture. The primary design challenge was to fit a dynamic layout into an existing rectangular space, working around existing columns and other building elements. In the end, the layout includes a triangular-shaped entry/ waiting room that opens up to the reception area by means.

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The Office Renovations for Gerresheimer Glass entailed the creation of a renovated and expanded 5,031 office area within a pharmaceutical glass company in Chicago Heights, IL. Referred to as the “Cinderella Project” by Gerresheimer management, the project was the last phase of a much larger production retooling project. The conversion of an outdated, well-worn space into a modern, up-to-date office is analogous to the Cinderella story considering the technologically-advanced glass processes contained within Gerresheimer. The office renovation, itself, provided an opportunity to establish separate entrances for both manufacturing employees and office staff. Visitors to the facility enter through the new.

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The Will-Mc Building is a 16,000 SF, $2 million facility designed primarily for McMahon and Associates, an accounting firm located in Munster, Indiana. Besides housing over 10,000 SF of finished office, the Will-Mc Building also contains 6,000 SF of space for future tenants. In terms of design, the Will-Mc Building utilizes a double cruciform layout that allows the massiveness of the building to be broken up by two gabled ends on both the east and west sides. This layout helps to soften the impact of the Will-Mc Building next to its neighbors as well as giving the building a more.

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The Praxair Office Building is a new 15,000 SF, $2.1 million control center for Praxair’s new Whiting, Indiana hydrogen processing plant. It was of utmost importance that the building be functional and serve all the needs of the managing staff as well as convey an image of professionalism to their clients and prospective hires. The exterior of the building includes a metal panel wall system that was included to allude to the high-tech nature of the interior. The wall system is also engineered to absorb the initial shock wave in the unlikely event of a blast. The actual control room.

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By 2008, Kraft needed to provide a new employee entrance to their Kedzie Avenue manufacturing facility. The one-million square foot facility had employee entrances scattered haphazardly throughout their facility, which led to security, safety, and control issues that were becoming difficult to manage. Vavrek Architects provided a solution that utilized an underused and underserved bank of offices, and converted the space into a new passageway between the employee entrance and business areas. A new company store was also added, providing a much needed and beneficial service to employees. The end result is an entry that brings the aging facility into.

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