AEW Capital Management

AEW Capital Management asked Elkus Manfredi Architects to design a culturally transformative workplace for its office in Boston’s Seaport District. AEW’s leadership sought to offer a rich mix of options for employees to encourage collaboration, remove hierarchy, and allow people to work in an environment suited to their individual working styles. Completed in fall 2021, the reimagined 75,000-sf office, with WELL-Gold-certification pending, features abundant daylight, sweeping views, a wide variety of work settings, and a collection of original artwork that speaks directly to the depth of AEW’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The design treats the workspace in a new and revolutionary way¬ – not simply as a container for staff, but as a service, a tool for success, and a model for health and wellness. Designers turned the workplace inside out, moving private offices to the interior and open workstation and collaboration areas near windows, where views can be enjoyed by the most people. A mix of private meeting rooms, offices, workstations, and collaboration zones form work neighborhoods, each of which features a communal “back porch” with furniture chosen by neighborhood employees: comfortable soft seating in one area, expansive worktables in another. The Ciao Café offers employees freshly prepared meals and additional spots for working, recharging, and connecting. Throughout the office, an ongoing dialogue between upscale and industrial elements creates an environment that is sophisticated and slightly edgy while still being comfortable and unpretentious, capturing the firm’s stature as an industry leader as well as its inclusive, approachable culture.