Steelcase

Over the span of three decades, Progressive Companies has become a trusted partner for Steelcase, a global design company and thought leader in the world of work, supporting their business growth and change. Our teams have collaborated on a multitude of unique opportunities ranging from corporate environments, regional showrooms, and event experiences across the Americas—fostering a culture of innovation and supporting their global talent.

Corporate Innovation and Sustainability

Working alongside the Steelcase team, we helped develop the Grand Rapids Global Business Center, a new headquarters transforming their manufacturing-centric campus into a multi-disciplinary people-focused hub. Removing the campus' trucking lanes made way for new rainwater filtering bioswales and native species landscaping, creating meandering pathways that connect employees to workspaces and the wider campus.

Transforming a windowless warehouse on the company's campus, Steelcase’s Learning and Innovation Center (LINC) serves a multi-faceted purpose and includes three major components – the Model Shop and Test Labs, Nourishment Bar, and WorkLab. Together, these make the center a diverse, flexible and innovative place for education and training, product development and showrooms, workspaces, dining, and client engagement. The redesign included a new exterior facade, canopy, landscaping, and courtyard and features several rich learning environments based on community and urban planning principles. The building now boasts nine classrooms, ten breakout areas, an installation lab for Steelcase product installer training, and much more. 

WorkLab in particular was designed to be an inclusive, eco-conscious product showroom and branded experience. Its glass façade and “front porch” create an opportunity to engage nature and produce a welcoming front door to the corporate campus. The roof was redesigned to reduce heat island effects and provide greater thermal properties for the interior, and the project received LEED Platinum certification.

Progressive Companies also developed a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary IT center designed to accommodate the adoption of an “agile mindset” amongst IT employees, allowing them to be more closely connected to customers, less siloed and sharing knowledge in broad ways organization-wide. The final design leaned into the flexible and collaborative working style needed for the IT professionals of today, broken down into “town square” meeting pods, “garden” spaces rife with biophilia, and more traditional “business district” spaces.  

Bringing Branded Experiences to Life

Our team also acts as an extension of Steelcase’s design group in the design of workspaces, showrooms, events, and customer experience centers in cities across the nation. We provide everything from full-service design, architecture, and engineering projects to custom furniture, artwork, and staging as the project requires. Designs focus on brand differentiation and application of Steelcase’s proprietary research and insights. Our team strives to build and maintain a strong brand and product understanding as a foundation for design concepts that immediately connect people to the brand message and unique story behind the product. We develop authentic ways to tell the Steelcase story, helping clients see how the research and product offerings can be used to improve their work environment.

We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Steelcase as they evolve and expand their national and global presence. Together, we are poised to revolutionize the future of the workplace, delivering thoughtful experiences for generations to come.

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