You Can’t Just Change the Furniture: What Workplace Leaders Need to Know About Assembly Space Code Requirements
Organizations are becoming more intentional about the purpose of the office, recognizing that social capital built in person, not over video, fuels psychological safety and collaborative momentum. As AI becomes an increasingly prevalent part of workstreams, and human skills like empathy and creative problem-solving become more important, it is likely that this trend will continue. The traditional hierarchy-based office environments of…
Reduce, Reuse, & Create Impact: Extending Resources Where They Matter Most
You never know how a single act can multiply impact beyond your imagination… Two years ago, SMRT donated six laptops to support a school in Liberia. This year, we donated seven more. Thirteen laptops total, delivered to schools where students had never used a computer before. Thirteen laptops. On paper, it’s a modest contribution. But watching the impact, students experiencing…
The Wellbeing Dividend: Why Human-Centered Work is the Ultimate Competitive Advantage
I’ve been with SMRT for nearly two decades. In those 19 years, I’ve had a front-row seat to a fundamental shift in how we define the workplace. In the past, offices were a backdrop, a static arrangement of furniture and floor plans, today, work environments are a high-performance tool for productivity, profitability, and people. Here…
Work Design Magazine Features Hannaford’s Home Office Renovation
The reimagining of the Home Office for Hannaford Supermarkets in Maine resulted in a connected, inclusive, and future-ready workplace for its 1,000 employees. Originally built in the 1970s as a Sears warehouse, the newly transformed hub is anchored by a multistory atrium with a monumental staircase, creating openness and encouraging collaboration and movement throughout the…
Bridging the Data Gap: How Custom Tools Transform A/E Design
Architecture and engineering are changing. The demand for high-quality design is still strong, but clients facing increasingly complex projects expect more. A well-structured BIM (Building Information Model) file used to produce 2D drawings is no longer enough, and the I in BIM – information – is not always complete or accessible. At the same time,…
Return to Trust: The Human Side of Return-to-Office Decisions
Since the online algorithms know me and my obsession with all things workplace so well, I can’t log on to any device or app without being bombarded by articles about Return to Office policies (RTOs) – and naturally, I read all of them! RTOs are a careful calculation of risk vs. reward for executive leaders….
Mass Timber “Revolution” – SMRT Featured in MaineBiz
Ellen Belknap, President of SMRT Architect and Engineers spoke at last month’s Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech) event about the potential future of producing mass timber and cross-laminated timber in Maine. “When we have mass timber available to us locally, it will be a game-changer,” she said. Belknap’s discussion centered on how to…
WELL, Now: How WELL’s Health-Safety Rating System Provides a Safer Path Back to Work
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, awareness and wariness of building safety skyrocketed. In response to this crisis, the WELL Health-Safety Rating system was developed to be a low barrier threshold to improve a space’s overall health impact.
Day One Energy Analysis: How Early, Data-Driven Decisions Deliver Sustainable Buildings and a Lifetime of Cost Savings
Performance-based energy analysis produces valuable metrics that can influence design decisions early in the project, when design changes are easier and less costly to incorporate
How the Coronavirus is Reshaping the Office
Ellen Belknap and Kate Everett spoke to the Portland Press Herald last week about how the shift to all-remote work has changed the discussion around the future of workplace. “This is the greatest experiment we never thought we would have,” said Ellen. With increased productivity, flexibility and carbon-reducing benefits, the experience has offered some real…