Move to Crosstown area on the way for brg3s Architects

Following the sale of its current leased space downtown, brg3s architects is planning to make a move to the revitalized Crosstown area by the end of the year. The firm has secured a 4,200-square-foot ground floor and basement space at the former White Way Pharmacy building at the northeast corner of Cleveland and Overton Park, one block away from the new Crosstown Concourse redevelopment.

“We loved being downtown but also recognize that Crosstown is an up-and-coming area,” said brg3s principal Steve Berger.

Brg3s formed originally in 1900 and has occupied multiple locations around town. The firm specializes in health care, retail and office space design.

The firm’s new space is actually smaller than the its current downtown location at the old Nabisco Biscuit Company building at 11 Huling St., which is actually larger than what the company needs for its 16 employees.

At the new Crosstown location, work space will be on the ground floor of the building, with printing and storage in the basement.

“We’re in the middle of a culture shift in office organization trends, and we’re going to use the layout of our new office space to explore that,” said Jason Jackson, brg3s lead design architect. ‘We’re seeing a trend where offices are almost designed like a home environment, and we’re trying to create a space where people are comfortable and they are their most productive.”

Gone are the days of individual offices or cubicles where people work in isolation, replaced instead by an emphasis on collaboration space and flexibility.

The old pharmacy had a soda fountain, and the terrazzo floor still contains the design where that fountain bar sat.

‘We’re going to use that to build a new collaboration bar poetically in the same location,” said Jackson. “Our materials library will be there, and our kitchen will be part of it.”

Smaller desks and private conference areas will be available for use by anyone.

A large outdoor plaza entry is still being designed with the goal of opening up towards the resurgent Crosstown Concourse area.

Demolition of the building’s interior is underway now, and buildout of the new space is likely to get underway in the next two months. The new office layout will have enough extra space to allow for the firm to expand some in the future.