Contract - May 2016 - 103

The building's concrete
structure is revealed in
open office areas (above).
Venafi's brand colors appear
throughout, as in the
recording studio (above,
right) lined with bright
orange acoustical insulation.
The angles and facets of the
Cloud (opposite, top two) are
echoed in the maple-veneerclad reception desk (opposite,
bottom), which is flanked
by a 27-foot-long video wall
that animates the lobby
with brand-related imagery.

When cybersecurity firm Venafi wanted to relocate its headquarters
to downtown Salt Lake City from the suburbs, the company envisioned
a workspace that would embody a culture of transparency and
community. Working with Venafi on both site selection and interior
design, Los Angeles-based architect Steven Christensen created
an open, light-filled environment that reflects and promotes Venafi's
values, bolstering the company's collaborative nature and its ability
to recruit and retain the brightest talent.
Having physically and psychologically outgrown its previous
workspace, characterized by daylight-deprived cubicles and enclosed
offices, Venafi longed for an environment that would support its mission.
"We are fighting bad guys," says Venafi Vice President of Finance
Michelle Tanner, "and to do that we need a space that cultivates
collaboration and nurtures teamwork."
Fortunately, an informal meeting with Christensen, a Salt Lake
City native, segued into a close working relationship between the
architect and Venafi's leadership. "We worked with [Christensen]
to translate our cultural values-openness, teamwork, and wellness-
into our new space," Tanner says.
"Venafi wanted a headquarters that would reflect its vision
for a new company culture," Christensen says, "a built manifestation
of a desire for a more horizontal, flexible, and healthy office environment."
Surprisingly, Venafi found the framework for that environment in
a 30-year-old building, where the third floor had been an investmentbanking call center, complete with oppressive drop ceilings.
Yet for Christensen and Venafi, the virtues-floor-to-ceiling glazing,

a relatively shallow L-shaped floor plate that allows daylight
to penetrate, a prime central location adjacent to mass transit,
and expansive views of Salt Lake City and the mountains beyond-
overpowered its ordinariness.
Christensen's first move was to strip bare the 36,000-square-foot
interior, revealing the concrete structure and nearly 12-foot-high ceilings.
Entirely new lighting and mechanical systems were installed and
organized to ensure both energy efficiency and occupant comfort. These
environmental systems, which are left exposed where possible in a nod
toward transparency and cost-efficiency, absorbed the majority of the
project's budget. Thus the remaining design relied on creative solutions.
Branded on arrival
One arrives at the Venafi office in an elevator lobby lined with black
MDF panels that are inscribed with the company's core initialization
code. When light hits the textured panels at certain angles, the play
of light and shadow creates a dramatic tone for entry.
In keeping with Venafi's desire for a collaborative environment,
all 160 employees-including the CEO-work together in open
workstations. Christensen placed these along the south and west
perimeter, maximizing natural light and views. To avoid the appearance
of corporate modularity, hanging bar pendant light fixtures run
on a diagonal above these open areas, while gray carpet tiles trace
the opposite diagonal below moveable, reconfigurable sit-stand desks.
A polished concrete path separates these shared workspaces from
more private, polycarbonate-screened team and conference rooms.
contract

Contract - May 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - May 2016