Modernization comes home.

Stamats Communications Inc. knows a lot about image. As a specialized communications firm involved in business publishing, higher education marketing, and special-interest video programming, Stamats not only sells image to its clients, it creates image.

It's no surprise, then, that the

75-year-old company, which is based in Cedar Rapids, IA, is involved in an aggressive modernization of its 36,000-square-foot headquarters building. In addition to a need to accommodate growth in research, marketing, and creative areas of the company, the renovation ensures Stamats remains a leader in its respective disciplines. At the same time, the company is committed to recruiting and retaining talented employees to assist in meeting its ambitious goals for year 2,000 and beyond.

Business units include:

* Buildings Group, which serves the information needs of major building ownership/facilities management professionals through Buildings magazine, Buildings INTERIORS, Buildings Systems Integration, Buildings Show, Buildings Institute, and Buildings OnLine.

* Educational Services Group (ESG), which provides integrated solutions to higher educational institutions nationwide through publications, market research and consultation, interactive media, and seminars.

* National Referral Roster[R], which is a national directory of residential real estate firms.

* Meetings in the West, which serves the information needs of meeting planners through Meetings in the West, The Complete Meetings Guide to the West, and Meetings OnLine.

* American Visions[R], which produces custom media programs for national and international distribution and broadcast.

This continuing series on the Stamats modernization, featured in future Buildings INTERIORS, will offer an objective view of the successes and challenges this construction project incurs. This month, the series begins with expectations from various perspectives: the owner's, the architect's, employees', and the contractor's.

We're extremely interested in the project. After all, Stamats Communications is Buildings' home.

Stamats Communications

Founded: 1923 by Herbert Stamats and Frank French.

Business: Specialized communications company involved in business publishing, higher education marketing, and special interest video programming.

Clients: Commercial buildings professionals and suppliers, colleges and universities, meeting planners, and real estate brokers.

Location: Headquartered in Cedar Rapids, IA, company has offices in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Modernization Participants

Owner: Stamats Communications Inc. Architect: OPN Architects Inc. General Contractor: Unzeitig Construction Co. Mechanical Contractor: Valenta Plumbing & Heating Inc. Electrical Contractor: Nelson Electric Co.

RELATED ARTICLE: Owner: Unity

It's not every day that a company sends out change of address cards without actually changing the location of the business. Later this year, after 75 years at the same Sixth Avenue address, Stamats Communications will do just that - by moving the north entrance to the east side of the building.

"Changing the address of the building was an easy decision when we began looking at renovating the interior of the building," says Peter S. Stamats, vice president/treasurer, Stamats Communications. "We recognized that the first step in the renovation process was to eliminate the separation of the front and back of the building by establishing one main entrance for the facility and centralizing the restroom, dining, and conference areas."

The original building was constructed in 1923 with additions made to the facility almost every 20 years. Unfortunately, adapting the building to meet the evolving needs of the company led to a lack of structural continuity and central corridors. Patrons entering the building's main entrance have been routed through a series of narrow, maze-like hallways. In several instances, offices are themselves hallways with doorways at each end to allow passage through one to another - to reach a final destination conference room. Other areas have employees doubled up in small common areas with makeshift partitions that divide workspaces.

The company went through all the necessary steps in determining whether to build new, lease existing space, or renovate the current building. The decision was made to remain at the current location and renovate, based primarily on cost considerations.

Three of the principal decision-makers for the company are Guy Wendler, president; Peter S. Stamats; and Rich Hanson, controller. Each of the three approached the process with a different viewpoint.

Wendler, from a management point of view, wanted to increase employee productivity, to motivate people, and to create space. To best utilize the workforce that currently exists within Stamats, access to each others' talents, opinions, ideas, and resources was paramount. Also recognizing the importance of preparing both space and technology for expansion, Wendler says, "The building was originally tasked for a different purpose. It was not designed for the people flow we have now, the types of groups we have working here, or the types of technology we use." He believes there is more to recruiting and retaining good employees than just offering competitive wages and benefits. Having a comfortable and attractive work environment is equally important to an employee's attitude, productivity, and longevity with the company. "Providing a challenging and attractive work environment for employees contributes to the success of the company," notes Wendler.

Stamats takes the viewpoint of the owner, recognizing the pain, as well as the pleasure, of maintaining control of the building vs. becoming a tenant. "Creating a campus effect between the parking area located across the street from the building as well as the relocation of the main entrance to a more heavily trafficked area will increase our presence within the community," he says.

Stamats' desire to preserve a piece of history played a major role in determining what pieces of the interior of the building would remain intact. Such rediscovery includes:

* Exposing a section of skylights from the 1920s.

* Preserving such elements as the library, executive offices, and some of the original brick walls.

* Extending the warm look of the rich wood veneer walls throughout the building.

Hanson assessed the viability of preserving the past without compromising the integrity of the renovations to be made. His input is based on durability and energy-efficiency for the long term. As an example, replacing old windows with new UV-coated, energy-efficient ones allows natural light to augment overhead lighting for many people. "We noticed almost immediately after the new windows were installed that people were choosing to enjoy the natural light that filtered through the windows instead of the fluorescent ceiling lights," says Hanson.

All three agree that they expect completion of this extensive modernization to be on time. More importantly, they agree on the keys to making the process a success - flexibility, adaptability, and a good sense of humor.

- Clara M. W. Vangen, Assistant Editor

RELATED ARTICLE: Architect: Identity

A walk through the halls of Stamats Communications is a stroll through the history of publishing. Black-and-white photos of printing press workers offer reminders of how the company started. In a building where monumental presses once roared, computers now quietly hum.

"Stamats has a very long history. It is a history of growth by small pieces," says Steven K. Knierim, AIA, project architect and principal at Cedar Rapids, IA-based OPN Architects Inc. "From a baseline objective, the modernization project is really to restructure the internal organization to support the business segments and gain back efficiency." At the heart of the design are three components: function, perception, and image.

An initial study of the space, which included a departmental color-coded drawing, illustrated the fractured nature of the current space layout. An example is the main entrance, located at a corner of the building. "One of the objectives was to re-establish this approach-entry sequence and move it within the building so that it would serve all business segments," says Knierim.

While the company gains a higher profile with the new street address, its overall image needed unity. "The image was - and still is - the toughest part of this project," Knierim says. "You have this ... history to address and at the same time you have to acknowledge that this company is not the same company it was even 10 years ago. [Stamats is] no longer a printer; [it is] an intellectual service provider and publisher."

The building's brick-and-ivy exterior characterized by the strong repetition of windows emerged as the project's traditional element. "Stamats' external image has been this building for many years." Knierim says. The windows became a functional and philosophical theme carried into the interior space design. The design uses display windows to peer into the past, showing artifacts from Stamats' history. "We want to look at the history, but we also wanted to give glimpses into what Stamats is and what it does," says Knierim. Windows will provide visual openness between different work areas, which will be realigned for greater work efficiency. A 20- by 70-foot skylight will be uncovered to provide natural light to workspaces. A central conference room located in the entrance area will feature windows that allow people to view the company at work.

The major statement within the building is the conference room and entrance area, which provides a central meeting place for employees and balance between past and present. The conference room is a wood and glass, semi-freestanding structure in the entrance area. Initially, the room was designed to be fully freestanding, but a weight-bearing column was discovered and had to be worked into the design. On one side of the room, a former exterior brick wall will be stripped of its paint and function as the link to the past. On the opposite side, about 40 feet away, a new blond maple wood wall will offer contrast, yet tie in with existing wood finishes found throughout the building. Each wall symbolizes design trends applied over the years. "It is the interplay with the three elements that creates the energy in the space," Knierim points out.

Company energy, creativity, and growth are posed for action and the new design must deliver. Images of the past are watching and visions for the future stand ready.

- Elaine Watkins-Miller, Senior Associate Editor

RELATED ARTICLE: Employees: Function

Employees at Stamats Communications are no different than those in other companies: They need the tools to perform their jobs effectively.

A good office or workspace is vital to achieve that end.

For many Stamats employees, the current setup is not as efficient as it can be. "Right now we're a hodgepodge of hallways and little rooms, creating a maze," says Lisa Kramer, a senior coordinator for Educational Services Group (ESG).

The reason for the jumble is that Stamats has expanded both the number of employees and the building over the years. Many piecemeal additions and renovations have produced a lack of focus or consistency in office layouts. "There's been a lot of 'just get a person in a space, give them a place to work' as opposed to 'are they in the right place to interact effectively and productively,' "explains controller Rich Hanson.

A prime expectation by employees - and an opportunity for the project - is that the new layout will more effectively group teams together. "It'll be really nice to have everyone consolidated into one area," says ESG designer Anne Kent. "It would be nice to feel more like a cohesive unit."

Just as some departmental teams are spread out, other entire departments work in opposite ends of the building. With little shared spaces, many Stamats employees never see each other. The renovation will change that, with a centrally located reception, conference, kitchen/cafeteria, and restroom areas. This is an aspect important to employees like Mary Richeson, an inside sales representative for Buildings magazine and the National Referral Roster. She hopes the renovation will provide unity both for the building and for the people who work in it: "I think things will be pulled together a little more. There'll be more of a consistent look to the building. It'll be more colorful, not as dark. It'll be cleaner," she says.

Hanson has been involved with the project from the start. One of his earliest responsibilities in the renovation was to help connect employee needs - stated in surveys completed by each employee - with project goals. Sometimes, he says, priorities had to be amended when they conflicted. For instance, privacy and natural lighting were top on the list for ESG graphic artists. Unless they were in perimeter offices, however, they couldn't have both - perimeter offices wouldn't work for team adjacencies. The company asked which was most important.

Their choice of lighting opened a range of possibilities, including opening a closed skylight - now a major element of the project. The privacy compromise includes semi-private office areas. Other employee expectations include good acoustics, air quality, and temperature consistency.

They want a building with one cohesive, planned, organized layout from one end to the other, "an environment that they are glad to come into, that makes them feel good to be here," says human resources manager Jo Ann Binzen.

And they want their spaces to work.

- Maureen Patterson, Senior Associate Editor

RELATED ARTICLE: Contractor: Quality

"Expect the unexpected" is, perhaps, the lament of any contractor involved in a modernization project. For general contractor Unzeitig Construction Co., however, such expectations have been combined with a sense of discovery. As layers of the original structure and its subsequent additions are uncovered through selective demolition, elements of the company's 75-year history are unveiled.

"It's an interesting building," says Hunter Parks, project manager at Unzeitig. "It has been worked on many times. We tear through one wall and see some of the parts I call the 'institutional phase' of architecture. And then, when you peel back from there, you are suddenly revisiting the 1930s and '40s."

Modern-day Stamats' employees relish their individual workspaces, but communication among groups and between departments has been less than optimal. Additionally, the piecemeal consequences of additions over the years and the vast expanse of a warehouse area resulted in physical barriers to further separate employees. A new hallway feeding each end of the building to a centralized lobby/conference area will unify various departmental and facility elements.

Demolition and reconstruction of Phase I progresses, requiring the team to adapt to new "discoveries" almost daily. "We were cutting three openings about eight-feet-wide into a bearing wall and had to work around supports that were in a slightly different place than we originally thought," says Parks, adding that hazardous materials abatement, specifically for asbestos, was unnecessary.

What's the biggest challenge for the contractor? "Having employees work in the building during construction," says Parks. Fortunately, a dedicated "swing space" area committed to company expansion in the future - will allow departments a temporary home as their areas are affected.

It's another matter of being prepared for the unexpected.

- Linda Monroe, Editor-in-Chief