The project of transforming the brand-new LinkedIn Omaha office is the perfect illustration of how our team at Applied Surfaces, a division of ER2 Image Group, views every project well before the installation.
Before thinking about the logistics of bringing a new environment to life around hundreds of employees, we work closely with the architects and designers who have specified us for the job to truly understand their vision. That way, as collaborators, we can stand back and say we not only reflected some amazing creativity but gone beyond anything any of us even imagined once the space is brought to life.
That’s what makes a space memorable for everyone who enters it.
How did this approach translate to LinkedIn?
An Homage To Omaha. An Inspiration To LinkedIn.
Hundreds Of Stories To Go With.
Applied Surfaces was brought in for the project at the LinkedIn Omaha office by Gensler, an environmental design team based in San Francisco. Applied Surfaces had recently worked with Gensler on a high-profile project involving the Old Post Office in Chicago, transforming a long-dormant space into a captivating atmosphere for all who would enter the building.
Now, the task before us was massive: Showcase the history of Omaha combined with the brand of LinkedIn – across every inch of two identical buildings, each of them 200,000 square feet and five floors.
In constructing two new buildings, LinkedIn gave us the opportunity to view our crucial role within the big picture of this project literally from the ground up, from two large “shells” to the walls in each building going up to complete painting of the buildings. Then it was our turn at Applied Surfaces to leave a mark on LinkedIn’s brand with some awe-inspiring environmental design.
“The LinkedIn Omaha office, without a doubt, represent our most customized project to date, with so many individual elements presenting their unique style practically everywhere you look. We’re not talking one room, one department or one floor. We’re talking a level of design that touched every inch of the operation.”
– Jason Dillas
Managing Director, Applied Surfaces
Take A Walk Around The LinkedIn Omaha Office With Us
The best way to appreciate the depth of the LinkedIn project is for us to focus on a variety of fantastic, standout elements throughout both buildings. Join us, won’t you?
“Land Of Opportunity” Custom Copper Piece
America has always been known as the Land Of Opportunity and part of that opportunity for settlers to “go west” took them through Omaha. Because of its home, this multi-dimensional, custom-made copper piece reminds us that LinkedIn itself also represents the land of opportunity for so many active and passive job seekers.
The “Corn Husk Wall”
It wouldn’t be Nebraska without mention of corn. Including the beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers down the road in Lincoln. But this “corn husk wall” might be the most stylish representation of it. The wood you see here is actually from a farm that had been around for many years and was eventually torn down. Applied Surfaces sourced the wood from a local reclaim shop and now it has a new life in a whole new environment. How’s that for sustainability?
“’Members First’ Cassette Tape Wall”
This just in: Cassette tapes are back! Well, they are in this tape deck wall with dimensional lettering. Applied Surfaces created practically everything you see on this display from scratch. We built the lettering, sourced the tape decks and made the labels. So awesome, it might just top that greatest hits mixtape you made in high school.
The “Parachute Wall”
You can do a whole lot with nylon fabric and rope. Like make a parachute! OK, not really, but since Omaha is just north of Offutt Air Force Base, the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command, we created a parachute wall to honor the base. Our seamstresses played a big part in making colorful fabrics, while one of our team members at Applied Surfaces used individual pieces of rope for this particular custom-built element.
A Different Floor, A Different Color.
Everything happens for a reason – in the case of the LinkedIn project, each floor of the two buildings was purposefully given its own unique designated color – orange, green, yellow, blue and red.
Want To See An Awesome Color Palette? Take The Stairs.
In addition to the floor colors, we hand-painted the entire stairwell on every building floor, making the colors distinctly different at every turn.
The Stories This Space Could Tell. And Does To Inspire Every Day.
Applied Surfaces did have some very talented strategic partners in addition to our stellar team to help bring the project to a timely conclusion, including a variety of designs done by one of the best original mural painters in the business, with numerous nods to Omaha, LinkedIn and the power of diversity, inclusion and belonging.
Super Cool And Weirdly Innovative Have A Home Here.
3-D metal fabrications. Giant acrylic paddles for a game room. Custom shelving units made from reclaimed wood. Custom light bulbs filled with flowers. A music studio that allows you to take some time away to make music and embrace your inner DJ. The unexpected lives here at LinkedIn and we were honored at Applied Surfaces to make it happen.
Yet, as wonderfully creative and untraditional our pieces for the LinkedIn Omaha office were, we can take just as much pride in being nimble in the face of change.
From the moment we hit production in August 2021, updates and modifications were regularly being made, even while we were building pieces. Applied Surfaces didn’t miss a beat, pivoting and reacting to these curveballs to arrive at an environment that hundreds of employees for the world’s largest business networking platform can love coming to.
If you like what you see here from our LinkedIn project and want to learn how to unleash one of the most talented teams in environmental design on your space, it’s time you made a Connection Request of your own. Reach out to ER2 Image Group today at 630-980-4567 or email [email protected].
