BMW Technology Inc. is a global tech development company that specializes in building connected car services. The organization is focusing on creating software that integrates consumers digital lives with their mobility needs in order to make their driving experiences easier and safer.

The team of software engineers located in downtown Chicago was growing rapidly, which called for working within a pressing time schedule and limited budget all while ensuring top quality and design. BMW had a lot of corporate standards as well as brand requirements. To best understand these requests our designers flew out to visit their Headquarters in Munich to get a visual of the culture they were trying to portray in the US, which really paved the way for the entire project.

At BMW Technology there are teams of software developers that work for each car where they plug in all sorts of different software into the back of a dashboard and get it to work. Knowing this we had to arrange the furniture where the team would work best in order to have satellite connection with their desks.

Technology played a huge role in the design of this project. Collectively there are a lot of meetings and brainstorming sessions, so it was key that we created a space where collaborating is enabled. We installed demountable partitions that created conference rooms and huddle rooms. Originally, they were using rolling white boards all around the office which made the space look cluttered, but we found a great solution to make them fit in a more structured space which created what they are now calling pods.

The collaboration theme is where the breakroom design came from allowing us to create a great social atmosphere to work in. In the same area we helped open up the cafeteria by adding a big clear glass bench. 

The brand is represented all throughout the space by having their classic welcome wall which is a standard for all BMW locations. Their warm branded colors were incorporated all throughout the space. We ensured coactivity in all areas making for a productive space where BMW tech engineers can now work effectively wherever they please.