Waste Management
Waste Management, Inc. is North America´s largest provider of integrated environmental solutions, employing over 45,000 people. Working across industry in a commercial, small business and residential capacity, Waste Management partners with their customers and communities to manage and reduce waste from collection to disposal while recovering valuable resources and creating clean, renewable energy.
The project - Level 17 in 1021 Main St., Houston TX - is an experimental design for the company´s Corporate IT department. This group is responsible for the entire company technology platform, including the design and implementation of the Waste Management website which is used for company branding and messaging as well as customer support and on-line business transactions.
The client wanted to redefine the current Waste Management design and office standards, to be more in keeping with the forward thinking and highly creative and collaborative work style of the IT group. The company´s extensive sustainable design initiative was also a major consideration. Ziegler Cooper conducted Programming and Visioning workshops with the client and end users to arrive at the optimal solution.
The planning concept includes glass fronted private offices and conference rooms arranged inboard, leaving the entire window wall open to the general work space. These inboard rooms were rotated at a 45 degree angle for a more dramatic form. To maximize the light and view for all, open plan workstation panels were kept to a 43" height throughout. A pair of "saw blade" shaped rooms flanks both sides of the elevator lobby; one is a conference room and the other is a culture room, intended for the display of the Corporate IT products and services. The "saw-blade" shape is repeated in the collaborative hub, which is comprised of a series of open and closed collaborative meeting spaces and the break room.
Waste Management´s corporate colors — gold and green — are refreshed in clearer hues and updated materials. The project was well received, and elements of the new design will be gradually be merged into the corporate standards
