La-Z-Boy Inc.’s new World Headquarters design centered around three main initiatives; La-Z-Boy’s commitment to the community where they were founded and thrived, their dedicated workforce from whom they drew their innovation and their passion for the environment. Founded in 1928 in Monroe, Michigan, La-Z-Boy had outgrown its’ original building, which had over the years been supplemented with twenty-three additions as the company expanded and prospered. Committed to staying in Monroe, the leadership purchased 120 acres of undeveloped land on which to establish their new world headquarters. Forty acres were selected for the main campus and building, and the remaining eighty acres were left untouched in order to preserve the endangered Oak Savanna ecosystem once prominent to the region. The building sits just east of the Oak Savanna in order to maximize views to the surrounding landscape while limiting the impact on the existing ecosystems.

Organized around a central atrium, with three-story glass facing west toward the Oak Savanna, the employee workspaces are set toward the perimeter of the floor plates to provide the best exterior views. Executives and enclosed offices are set within the core, adjacent to the atrium, giving them access to natural light but deference to their employees, turning the previous organizational model on its’ head. Furthermore, the executive leadership wanted to inspire the workforce and foster a culture of collaboration and spontaneous interaction and thus adopted a “free address” model for several of the departments. Omitting individually assigned workspaces allowed for the reduction of area designated for each employee and provided more opportunity for shared collaboration and amenity spaces like the work café and outdoor patio spaces.

In order to most effectively fulfill the needs of each work assignment, the diverse spaces and “free address” model allow for employees to assemble in teams as needed, for both short-term and long-term projects. To ensure this enhanced work flow is easily maintained through future growth and development, open and flexible floor plates were utilized throughout the design and as many interior walls as possible are constructed of glass allowing unobstructed views throughout.

LEED Silver Certified, the new headquarters also incorporated a number of low-energy strategies and techniques. These included the utilization of an underground geothermal system, various water reduction techniques, LED lighting throughout and programmable solar shades.