Embracing the opportunity to re-engage employees and rebuild its company culture, lighting agent Davis & Associates’ post-pandemic plan included an office move. A prime location near the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport was selected. BDH Design was hired to develop the concept, which has since gone on to win multiple awards for the office design.
Design intent was twofold: deliver a creative environment that would entice employees to return to work and create a showroom for Davis' lighting product lines. Luminaires from Peerless (formerly marketed and sold under A-Light) are featured prominently in the space. "Our goal was to showcase a variety of product lines," said Anthony Johnson, outside sales for Davis & Associates. "But we challenged ourselves to use each luminaire in atypical situations while still creating functional and uniform light.”
It should be noted that Johnson is a former architectural designer, so this was a unique opportunity for him to flex his creative design skills. Peerless Atlas luminaires (formerly marketed and sold under the A-Light brand) form a unique pattern along the ceiling of the open office area. A combination of downlight luminaires and acoustic versions, in pendant and ceiling mount, are interspersed. Acoustic panel colors are varied. And in some cases, suspension points run through the Atlas luminaires.
We wanted to show our clients that you can overlap these fixtures and still get good light,” Johnson said. “And the ceiling height was also quite low, roughly 7'6". So you have this huge light source right above your head, yet we can demonstrate that the illumination is uniform and extremely comfortable when working below.
The sales team occupies this space on one side of the counter, and the controls and operations team on the other. Johnson noted that the groups often meet, with the acoustic panels absorbing ambient sound and contributing to a calming environment. Large-scale Peerless Relay acoustic luminaires (formerly marketed and sold under the A-Light brand) are suspended above workstations that house project managers, marketing, and IT. A particularly loud HVAC system is nearby, so acoustics are vital. Relay’s Hexagonal and Hexagonal Long shapes feature acoustic panels in charcoal and deep teal green. President Shawn Meyer selected the latter, most closely replicating the Davis branding.
This location was ideal to showcase the Relay fixtures,” Johnson said. “We intentionally overlapped them, making them even more interesting than their shape already is.
Feedback on the new office space and showroom has been overwhelming. Clients love the environment and often book conference rooms for their own offsite meetings. Davis now fields requests to host other functions in its event space. And Johnson remarks that he often gets architects calling to ask if they can swing by to check out a specific luminaire they’ve seen on a previous visit. So, from a showroom standpoint, the project is a huge success.
Accolades extend beyond Davis’ clients and employees. The Davis & Associates office was named a 2023 Top Project by Minnesota's Finance & Commerce magazine. It received a 2023 Interior Design Award from the Minnesota Real Estate Journal. Lastly, it was nominated for an NAIOP (Commercial Real Estate Development Association) Award of Excellence.
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