Understanding what drives the need for change
When the global architecture firm Gensler looked at their Los Angeles office after two years of remote work, they saw a disconnect between the spaces they designed for clients and their own work environment. Their third floor, while contemporary, felt sterile and corporate—lacking the hospitality touches and residential warmth that their team had grown to appreciate while working from home. Sarah Koos, Gensler's senior strategist, recognized that the pandemic had fundamentally rewired expectations around work environments. The traditional office no longer spoke to the comfort, variety, and warmth that people had discovered in their own homes.
With a growing team and the realities of hybrid work reshaping how spaces needed to function, Gensler's next-generation designers and strategists took on an ambitious challenge: transform their own workspace into a model that would embody the hospitality-inspired approach they championed for clients. They needed flexible communal areas, dynamic presentation spaces, and above all, an environment that would support a renewed sense of work-lifestyle balance. This project would serve as both a testing ground for their design philosophy and a template for future office renovations across their practice.
How we brought the vision to life
Tangram partnered with Gensler's internal design team to bring their hospitality-inspired vision to life through carefully curated furniture that would transform the sterile corporate environment into something more residential and welcoming. The design partnership centered on selecting pieces with soft organic shapes, warm tones, and cozy textures that would create natural gathering points throughout the open office, social hubs, and lounge areas. Standout pieces like the Hippo Lounge Chair by NORR11 became focal points that invited collaboration while providing the comfort people had grown accustomed to at home.
The furniture selection worked in harmony with Gensler's material palette of maple plywood and blackened metal, creating a foundation for vibrant creative elements like dynamic pin-up boards, styled shelving, and local student artwork. Every piece was chosen to support the flexibility that hybrid work demands—spaces that could seamlessly transition from focused individual work to collaborative presentations to casual social interactions. The result was a purposeful workspace transformation that proved corporate environments could embrace warmth without sacrificing professionalism.
5 professionals brought this vision to life
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