KS Engineers, seeking to create an office that not only would ease the connection between different departments, but attract (and retain) a multigenerational workforce, recently unveiled its updated 30,000-square-foot space at 2 Riverfront Plaza in Newark.
The new space includes a board room and reception area at the entry, huddle rooms, phone booths, a café with a virtual golf and gaming area, a wellness/meditation room and a library/lounge.
To allow for better cross-training of divisions, select departments were positioned adjacent to one another. All interior offices have adjacent huddle rooms to enable collaboration. The open office areas are interspersed with plan tables with storage that could be used for heads-down plan review sessions and impromptu collaboration.
KS Engineers is a top-ranked professional engineering, survey and construction management firm.
The design of the renovation was led by Ware Malcomb, which provided the interior architecture and design services for the project. Project construction was led by SJP Properties.
Marlyn Zucosky, regional director for Ware Malcomb’s New Jersey offices, said working together with the leadership of KS Engineers made the project come together.
“We conducted visioning sessions with KSE’s executive team to learn exactly what they were looking for, in terms of enhancing their culture, operations and work environment,” she said. “The KSE team was especially open to new ideas, which made the process collaborative and engaging. This new space supports a culture that is interactive and unifying.”
The project was designed to provide a welcoming, hospitable environment for clients and consultants, unify KSE employees and enable streamlined communication. A significant objective of the project was to help KSE bridge the gap between different levels of staff and help diverse departments work seamlessly together. The design also focused on appealing to a multigenerational workforce to help recruit and retain talent.
The fresh aesthetic includes graphics based on images of past projects, designed by KSE’s in-house graphics team, and a color palette that represents the blues in the KSE branding and other complementing colors throughout the space to deliver a very modern and inviting vibe.
Ware Malcomb, an international design firm based in Irvine, California, has 85 employees in the Northeast, working out of offices in Newark, Princeton and New York City.
