“We came to understand that Olympus has [historically] been about taking things and bringing them together,” said Merin. “This building is taking things that really weren’t together at all, integrating them together, and trying to bring them to the next level.”
Merin went on to address the challenges of integrating a wide range of R&D lab spaces on the second floor:
“The range of labs in this building runs the full gamut. It’s everything from a full electronics lab that you’d find in software development to a full wet lab that would dwarf any pharma laboratory. That’s a unique thing. … This runs the full range, and that became a great challenge for this building and to make sure that all the systems we had in it could fully accommodate a lot of these functions coming together.”
The tour also explored the new HQ’s shared workspaces, which focus on increased collaboration: “[Olympus] didn’t really have current workplace standards,” said Fitzgerald. “They were a little shy on collaborative spaces. We were able to work with them to develop those new standards … to show them what was out there and come up with new sizes and add different program elements.”
The generous range of amenities, which include a daycare, cafeteria, and fitness center, were also highlighted. “It’s amazing the amount of amenities that are offered to these Olympus employees,” said Fitzgerald. “We’ve had daycares in other projects that always get removed, [but] they put in this great daycare.”
