Hartford Business Journal

12 Hartford Business Journal • November 13, 2017 • www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS The Pita Group Headquarters: 40 Cold Spring Road, Rocky Hill Employees: 13 T he Pita Group's office is colorful and fun, designed to encourage the cre- ative flow of ideas and collaboration. The 10,000-square-foot space has an open floor plan, digital studio and state-of-the-art, in-house video production studio complete with a green screen and editing suite. Large windows throughout the space bring in natural light and energetic colors cover the walls and are mirrored in geometric patterns on the floors. Employees can sit or stand while they work and there are cozy areas for impromptu meetings and creative thinking, like the brainstorm area, complete with comfy chairs and inspirational books on the shelves. Artwork hangs on the walls and each employee has decorated their own work pod to their personal taste. An outdoor patio is used for meetings and BBQs. The "Pita Pit," the agency's community room, is one of the most popular spots in the office. With pub height tables and stools, a foosball table and a floor-to-ceiling graffiti chalkboard wall, the room is used for quick meetings, "family lunch" every day, holiday parties and Friday happy hour foosball tournaments. In this digital age, a chalkboard repre- sents an old-school spot to write inspira- tional quotes, funny messages and doodle. Coby, owner and executive director Paul Pita's nearly two-year-old dog, is also an office staple. Qualidigm Headquarters: 936 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield No. of Employees: 79 I n Oct. 2016, Qualidigm purchased a dis- tressed office building in Wethersfield and immediately began extensive reno- vations. The 44,000-square-foot facility, of which Qualidigm occupies approximately 20,000 square feet, offers open space to ac- commodate a growing workforce. The office features a traditional, open- space executive suite on the first floor with a wide, open-air center staircase, which con- nects the administrative and executive servic- es to the consulting space on the second floor. The consulting suite includes a large, open collaborative space with a non-traditional, 40-foot serpentine couch surrounded by 300 square feet of writable and projectable walls. Multiple smaller collaboration spaces featuring comfortable café and lounge seat- ing are located throughout the second floor. Additionally, a series of standing desks are available outside glass-encased worksta- tions for consultants who do not want to be confined to a cubicle. The office features new and modern furnishings including ergonomic chairs and workstations. The intent of the second floor is to en- courage people to get up, interact, engage and challenge each other with new ideas. Qualidigm's consulting management team is located in the middle of the floor. No one has a window in their office, which pushes staff out to collaborate. Shipman & Goodwin LLP Headquarters: One Constitution Plaza, Hartford No. of Employees: 250 in Hartford W hen Shipman & Goodwin planned to renovate its office a few years ago, redesign of its existing outdoor patio and employee lunch/ lounge area was a top priority. Now known as Lenny's Place, the new space provides a bright, comfortable relax- ing gathering place for staff and attorneys that also translates easily into a profession- al, inviting setting for larger (and evening) client and alumni events. The open floor plan highlights the large windows that wrap around three sides of the space, including the full length of the side that leads out to the patio and over- looks downtown Hartford. The indoor space has a modern, edgy style with blue walls and white drop ceilings. Furniture includes tables and chairs, large lounge chairs and a separate TV area. In addition to extending the open floor plan to the outdoor patio area, outside lighting was installed for evening events. The outdoor space was named in honor of Lenny Schoolnick, a longtime member of the office services staff who died in 2013. Tecton Architects and PAC Group LLC helped with the office space design. Hartford nonprofit developer CIL's office is located in a former Colt manufacturing warehouse on Charter Oak Avenue in Hart- ford. CIL redeveloped the once-dilapidated eyesore into an office building that still maintains its historic character.

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