Designing With, Not For

StepStone's former space was limited in both scale and design, offering few collaborative opportunities and limited space for hosting clients and internal events. ZGF’s design team was tasked with understanding how StepStone does work and designing a space that facilitates their workflow to meet their goals efficiently. Our team led a collaborative process that aimed to find ways to better support employees and accommodate the company's rapid growth by optimizing their space. We began by holding discussions with leadership to gather high-level needs, followed by conversations with a cross-section of staff to capture a variety of views regarding the functionality and aesthetics of the space. This method uncovered what StepStone’s space was missing, and which design solutions fit the firm best.

No More Moving Out

The renovation supports their dual goals of supporting current staff for the long term while building-in flexibility to accommodate rapid growth in a hybrid environment. ZGF’s floor layout establishes smart adjacencies that build bridges between StepStone’s departments and supports further coordination between them. By doubling square footage with the addition of a new interconnecting stair to a second floor, StepStone’s headquarters has more room to breathe.

The team considered StepStone’s future needs in our design following conversations with the client. Collaboration zones located throughout the open workspace can be easily modified to accommodate additional workstations for day two needs. Under all configurations, ZGF’s new layout increases the area dedicated to informal collaboration. Office infrastructure is designed to support StepStone as it evolves, including spaces fitted for touch-down flexible desking that supports temporary users.

Facilitating a Culture of Collaboration

ZGF’s renovation is centered on three focal points: collaboration, efficiency, and identity. StepStone’s former office was divided into “zones” with high partitions that separated colleagues and reduced their interaction. Our new design removes these divisions, creating visibility between colleagues in workspaces and increasing the transparency of all offices and meeting rooms to bring natural light deep into the floorplate. The improved floor plan is organized around meeting room “islands” that act as orientation and wayfinding elements in corridors using curved, warm wood exteriors.

To take advantage of the views on the 44th and 45th floors, new collaboration zones, a pantry, and the boardroom are placed in bright exterior corners. Wider hallways with improved wayfinding accommodate chance encounters and socialization, bringing together employees of all levels and creating a more dynamic workplace.

Making the Office Unmistakably StepStone

ZGF provided environmental graphic design services, drawing from StepStone’s unique aesthetic and culture to add dynamic visual elements to their workplace. The team incorporated a motif of circular movement, inspired by StepStone’s branding and the curved island rooms that are a central component of our architectural design. To integrate with our goal of drawing users to collaborative space, our environmental graphic designers introduced living green walls of preserved moss in lounge spaces on both floors. Felt paneling, shaped and ridged to match the firm’s logo, lines the walls in work zones to diffuse noise and brings a variety of textures. To assist workers and visiting clients with wayfinding, unified signage in corridors direct employees to meeting rooms and office facilities. The resulting tailor-made experience shows that StepStone has a home for good.