Residential Unit Is Transformed into Office Space

**The team exposed the raw history of the building while creating a contemporary office space.**

Full Circle, a marketing and design agency in Grand Rapids, Mich., sought a new and innovative space that would reflect its unique approach to marketing and branding while also providing room to grow the business. Ghafari Associates LLC was tasked with designing the conversion of an existing residential unit into a functional workplace, working within the confines of the existing space as part of a larger building. During the demolition phase, the team, which included general contractor and MEP Rockford Construction, discovered many infrastructural surprises, which would ultimately change the design approach.

**Existing conditions drove design decisions throughout the project.**

The building’s existing conditions allowed the team to create a truly one of a kind space, which exposed the raw history of the building and created a contemporary space that reflects the client’s daily workflow. As the existing conditions drove design changes throughout the project, the client and team had to be flexible and work quickly to find solutions to challenges that continued to arise.

The newly renovated office space provides Full Circle’s team with a variety of environments, including open office space, private offices, collaboration space, a mix of formal and informal conference/meeting space, and a break area with a more casual gathering space. Ultimately, the project was immensely successful, as evidenced by before and after comparisons of the space.