Offices
A Belated Welcome to Paragon Architecture
Paragon Architecture had just moved into its new offices when COVID-19 forced everyone to work from home. President and Principal of Paragon, Brad Erwin, dishes on the design of the new space, and how the team was brought back in mid-May.
By Max Havey
Sep 2020
Photos courtesy Gayle Babcock - Architectural Imageworks, LLCParagon enlisted help from local firms they had existing relationships with to realize their vision for this space. These include J&M Engineering, Toth and Associates, RTM Engineering Consultants, CJD Engineering and Branco Enterprises. “It was important for us to have these people be part of creating our new home,” Erwin says.
Photos courtesy Gayle Babcock - Architectural Imageworks, LLCIn the six months leading up their move, to better utilize a flexible workspace to all employees shifted onto laptops and infrastructure was installed to better support remote access. “We would not have been able to seamlessly transition to work from home if we hadn’t just moved into a new office,” Erwin says.
Photos courtesy Gayle Babcock - Architectural Imageworks, LLCParagon Architecture’s new space, designed in-house, promotes connectivity and community through a mixture of flexible and intentional workspaces. “We needed a space that better reflected how we work,” Erwin says. “We wanted this to be a testing ground to show our clients some different ways of thinking about their work environment.” Erwin declined to disclose the project’s cost.
Photos courtesy Gayle Babcock - Architectural Imageworks, LLCFlexible spaces, like the shaded back patio, work café or one of four conference rooms, allow plenty of space to spread out as Paragon’s staff of 22 returns to work. “We’ve had people working in the small conference rooms for half a day or working outside for half a day,” Erwin says.
Photos courtesy Gayle Babcock - Architectural Imageworks, LLCParagon’s community room is not only built to optimize connection with their other offices, but it’s also meant to act as a community resource for local organizations. “We’re really hoping to foster some of that outreach to the neighborhood once we get back to a normalcy,” Erwin says.
Photos courtesy Gayle Babcock - Architectural Imageworks, LLC“There are multiple options for each given kind of work environment,” Erwin says. Tasks like checking email or research can be done in the work cafe, dedicated quiet spaces feature large monitors for heads down work like designing and drawing.
