Project Name/Client: Safeguard Self Storage
Design Firm: idea|span
Location: Atlanta, GA
Products: Modern Glamour
Photographer: Chris Barrett


What is Design?
Design is a collaborative process that has the potential to provide strategic results through the creative invention of space and perceived experience.

The client’s strategy for their new workplace was to create an environment that would: Be aligned in spirit and attitude with their retail facilities, creating “connectivity” and reinforcing a strong, consistent brand across the organization. Reflect strength, security and trustworthiness. Enhance a culture that values teamwork, new ideas and the power of an “additive” atmosphere where collaboration can thrive. Reinforce to all employees their individual value as contributors to the organization’s success.

How is Design best illustrated through the project?
A planning concept was developed to foster fluid movement throughout the workplace, utilizing interior glazing and unique translucent materials to further enhance the sense of openness. Circulation flows though collaborative “venues” that are light filled, comfortable and designed to support interactive work processes. Rooftop terraces, a distinguishing feature of the building, are accessed from communal gathering spots providing the floor’s occupants a much valued amenity that extends the notion that “collaborative work happens everywhere.”

The design team was inspired by the austere qualities of the retail storage facilities; concrete flooring, industrial lighting and exposed building structure, as well as the materiality of the products that are integral to packing, storing and safekeeping. The idea of bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard and felt blankets make their way into the environment through the thoughtful selection of finishes and fabrics that conjure their essence. These decisions create an environment that celebrates the core business in a clever and sophisticated way, appropriate to a corporate headquarters.

Biggest Design Challenge?
The biggest challenge was providing alignment and connectivity with the retail side of the business and reinforcing a strong, consistent brand across the organization.

Opportunities to tell the company’s story are integrated into both primary and secondary circulation paths in the form of 2-D and 3-D fabrications that incorporate imagery and objects. Visitors and staff are greeted at the entry by a wall of Plexiglas cubes filled with “contents” that might reflect the valuables entrusted to them by their clients. The message focuses on the clients they serve, the people behind the things they keep safe and it is layered interestingly throughout the space.

What made it Innovative or Unique?
The impetus for this project was the organization’s relocation from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as part of a strategy to position this entrepreneurial entity for stability and growth. The design process called for the definition of a new corporate culture based on “reinvention” and the potential of “what could be.” The design team worked with the leadership of the organization to embody the client’s mission within the workplace: “be the premier storage solutions provider in their target markets, consistently delivering a variety of services and storage solutions in a format that builds trust and loyalty with their customer.”

How did Design make a difference?
The design is energetic, inviting and contemporary, reflecting the client’s entrepreneurial, forward thinking spirit.

The attitude of the environment is modern, straight forward and authentic. The furniture, finishes, lighting and architectural detailing reflect a simplicity and strength that is aligned with the business’s core values. This is achieved while creating a place that feels warm, welcoming and comfortable. The result represents a solution that is tailored in every way to supporting this organization’s unique positioning, work processes and culture.

The success of the design has been realized in the organization’s ability to redefine the culture of the organization and recruit and retain as the business enters a new era.

Previous | Next