-By Holly Richmond, Photography by Jamie Padgett

Click and link, click and link, click and link. The process of using a computer to gather information is such an entrenched part of daily life that why not make it part of the design process as well? That is exactly what Chicago-based Torchia Associates did for a fellow Windy City client. An ideas-driven agency that creates cutting-edge, user-friendly digital solutions for its clients, WhittmanHart Interactive thrives within the confines of a computer screen. Therefore, when Torchia suggested that its new 27,638-sq.-ft. office space mimic the clicking and linking process to reveal layers of forward-thinking design, the company knew it had found the right designer for its innovative home.

For eight years WhittmanHart was located in Chicago's River North area in an old warehouse loft building. Not only was the agency outgrowing the space, but it also was inconvenient for staff with little parking and inadequate access to public transportation. "In the late 1990s we were on the bandwagon with other burgeoning companies believing the best way to do business was in a completely open office environment with no doors or structured meeting areas," recalls Kevin Fryer, WhittmanHart's director of real estate. "We came to understand that the CEO needs a door and that contained meeting spaces are useful. We also wanted a cohesive link between the two sides of our business: interactive and consulting." Those discoveries sent WhittmanHart on a search for something, and someplace, new.

After acquiring an ideal location in downtown Chicago's Inner Loop two blocks from Union Station with easy highway access and ample parking, Fryer asked Torchia Associates to translate the agency's passion for interactive design into its workplace design. "We believe one of WhittmanHart's strengths is to 'see what others don't,' so we made that our design motto," explains Theresa Williams, IIDA, project manager and designer at Torchia. Sculptural use of drywall and lighting illustrates in 3-D architectural elements WhittmanHart's ability to look beyond what is right in front of them. "Spaces, surfaces, and materials slip, peel, and link to each other to reveal layers of design," she adds.

Set within a rectangular floor plan, neighborhoods of workstations accommodate the 300-plus staff members and their clients and provide comfort and surprise, collaboration and privacy, control and freedom. Frank Torchia, AIA, IIDA, managing principal at Torchia, notes that while the new plan called for more doors and contained areas including approximately 40 offices, 90 workstations, and four conference rooms, WhittmanHart is committed to a non-hierarchical, open yet structured environment. "They work laterally, so each space has curves, angles, and slipping planes that foster impromptu exchanges of ideas with a degree of discretion," Torchia says. The reception area and adjacent main conference room use high, partially exposed ceilings as the backdrop to refined architectural materials, multidirectional ceiling elements, streamlined millwork, and elegant furniture. Peeled drywall reveals a pop of color in the warm yet edgy space.

The main conference room features a frameless glass façade and is situated adjacent to a cantilevered servery ledge with a hidden pantry and copy area behind it. "The ledge, which also appears to be slipping and floating within the space, serves dual purposes," explains Art Krohnert, senior project designer. "It displays clients' work but also is used for serving food and beverages when the agency is hosting clients in the conference room." While this area is ideal for more formal gatherings, casual meetings and lunch hours are spent in the café, a staff favorite. Complete with a kitchenette and ping-pong and pool tables, the environment relieves stress and fosters creative expression. Banquette seating flanks both sides, while a stained concrete floor, wood paneling, vibrant upholstery, and indirect lighting set a contemporary yet convivial scene. Additionally, audio/visual connectivity is accessible for presentations on two flat-screen monitors.

While Fryer remarks that the café is packed at lunchtime for ping-pong games and impromptu meetings, he says the real brainstorming happens somewhere else—in the brainstorm lounge, of course. "This space is cool, unique, inspiring, and we get to write on the walls. It's like letting a bunch of big kids lose!" he laughs. The elliptical shaped lounge uses aqua-colored, translucent, 3-in. form Chroma panels cut in individual sizes to correspond with the design's sweeping curve, beginning high and gradually stepping lower. Omni-directional stainless-steel fittings allow facets to follow the ellipse, while a textured wallcovering sheathes drywall on the exterior and a "Walltalker" writable surface covers the interior. Revealed drywall fingers in the ceiling jut outward from the building's core hiding HVAC and other mechanical elements while providing a partial cap over the unique meeting space.

Torchia created a unique language for WhittmanHart expressed through design. "The space reflects our originality and imagination, and best yet, it's a trophy that impresses clients and attracts new talent. It is truly a 'Wow!' environment," Fryer concludes. Now there's a site to click on.

For a list of who, what, where, please see page 170.