The Kawasaki Motors headquarters in Foothill Ranch, Calif., has received the 2017 REmmy Award for Innovative Workplace over 50,000 sq. ft. from the Southern California chapter of CoreNet Global, the premier association for corporate real estate professionals. Tangram Interiors was a member of the team engaged for the project, which also included the design firm of H. Hendy Associates and project managers Hahn Partners.

The extensive project encompassed some 120,000 sq. ft. and included more than 250 workstations, reception lobby, conference rooms and cafe area. Steelcase products incorporated into the project included Answerworkstations, media:scape meeting and conferencing technology, and ancillary furnishings.

“It was a pleasure working with Kawasaki and our partners on this very exciting project,” said Tangram Account Executive Stephanie Dickson. “There was nothing ‘cookie cutter’ or standard about it, which is exactly the kind of challenge we love. It was fast paced and complex until the very end, and it turned out beautifully.”

One of the extraordinary challenges of the project was Kawasaki’s commitment to allow all its employees to choose their workstation from a set of seven “typicals.” This complexity required careful planning and very close logistical coordination as well as extensive design time to show each workstation in place as selected by the employees.

In addition, some of the installation had to be accomplished in areas where lighting had yet to be installed. Plus, close synchronization with the contractor and other trades was needed in order to meet a tight deadline for completion.