Sprout Social Maintains Rapid Growth With a Sleek and On-trend Office Space

Sprout Social elevates to new heights, literally, as it expands its footprint to give its social media management community more room to grow and stay engaged.

After previously completing its 7th-floor space in Chicago’s Citadel Center, the rapidly growing social media management company wanted their office environment to be an investment in their people. In adding more amenity spaces that catered to their needs, Sprout called on their general contractor, Skender, and architect, Partners by Design to create a 64,000-square-foot open, collaborative, and tech-driven space that will keep employees excited about their work and the space they do it in.

The company employs ~500 people, with ~400 in Chicago.

How much space?

64,000-square-foot

Was this a new or renovated space?

New, expanded space

Describe workspace types.

The one-story build-out added open-office seating, interior private offices, flex space, conference rooms, a training room, large boardroom, makers space, two additional intermediate distribution frame (IDF) rooms, as well as the second café with full presentation capabilities.

The space was focused on adding a lot of open office seating, more conference rooms, as well as improvements to the base floor infrastructure. As a result, the 8th floor has a lot more conference rooms & offices than the 7th floor.

What kind of meeting spaces are provided?

Vibrant collaborative work zones exist throughout the space and feature conference rooms, training rooms, and a large boardroom. One unique extension called the “Arboretum” was made to hold anything from large meetings to lunches for Sprout employees.

What other kinds of support space or amenity spaces are provided?

There’s a game room, movie and media space, bar and in-house recording studio that serve functional purposes as well as community needs. The open lunchroom features modern furnishings, a large pantry for daily catered lunches, and an attention-grabbing green wall.

What is the projects location and proximity to public transportation and/or other amenities?

The project is located in 131 S. Dearborn St, Chicago’s central business district, with public transportation and parking available within a walking distance.

Were there any special or unusual construction materials or techniques employed in the project?

Contemporary lighting fixtures, mobile writable surfaces, reclaimed wood and rope wall dividers, and each conferencing area has monitors and iPad room scheduling capabilities.

The project also created an open ceiling with some of its hard ceilings running with elevation changes throughout.

What kind of branding elements were incorporated into the design?

Fun and unique branded elements like the LaCroix can wall, pin wall and wall graphics were created in conjunction with Sprout’s branding team. This helped to communicate the felt experience of the company’s culture to staff and visitors alike.

The company’s logo — a leaf — is also found throughout the space.

“We have our old ‘Be Scrappy’ sign, which has come with us from office to office as a reminder to … keep that mentality, no matter how big our team and office are,” Director of communications, Kristin Johnson, tells the Chicago Tribune.

What was the most challenging part of the project? What did your team do to mitigate the challenges?

The tech-driven project required the restoration of the HVAC system and addition of a unique underfloor electrical infrastructure, which were essential enhancements for this tech company to stay ahead of the curve. The first five weeks of the project were spent on demolition alone as the previous space required complete demolition and roughly 50% of its raised floor had to be raised to create a level surface.

What kind of technology products were used?

The second café contains full presentation capabilities such as microphones, speakers, etc. Each conferencing area also has monitors and iPad room scheduling capabilities.

Are there any furnishings or spaces specifically included to promote wellness/wellbeing?

The Maker’s Space is a feature added that serves as an adult arts and crafts room for employees.

Tell us more!

General Contractor: Skender

Architect: Partners by Design

Owner’s Representative: Development Resources Inc

Engineer: Syska Hennessy

Audio Visual Design: AVI SPL

Furniture Vendor: ForwardSpace

Property Manager: Hines

Photos and Video, unless otherwise noted, courtesy of Skender