Efficient office design can powerfully impact a firm’s work culture as well as help manage costs. This principle wasn’t lost on Steve Ryan as he oversaw the relocation of the real estate law firm Cox, Castle & Nicolson’s offices to San Francisco's Financial District. Steve's on the far right in this picture of the San Francisco team in the new lobby. The standouts of the new layout are same-sized offices for all staff and high-quality shared spaces.

Steve, managing partner of Cox, Castle & Nicholson’s S.F. office, tells Bisnow the first goal was cost control. Since the company wanted to provide “cost-effective legal services in an era of rapidly rising office rents,” the team created a floor plan that allocated office space equally among professionals. This reflected a larger cultural value at the firm that focused on “work and expertise, and not on the trappings of success.”

Encouraging engagement and collaboration among the staff meant placing a heavy emphasis on building out the right kind of shared spaces, Steve tells us. Some of the features designed to foster teamwork and engagement include high-tech conference rooms, informal meeting areas, an improved dining area and a coffee bar.

“The design of the new space supports the firm’s strong recruitment and retention record by creating an environment that nurtures engagement and growth,” he added.

So far, the experiment is a success. “One of our unexpected problems,” Steve says, “has been scheduling the number of client and community requests to use our common space and conference rooms for their own meetings and events. A very nice problem to have!”