Project Reveal: JHET’s New, Un-Boring Office is a vibe

THE STORY

Some projects just hit a little differently, and this was one of them.

JHET is an architecture firm specializing in data centers, but long before they were JHET, we were co-workers.

Back in the day, circa 2005, we started at the same large Architecture and Design firm, doing corporate interiors and data center architecture. We were young and eager and still had the energy of 23 year olds (oh how I miss that). Jason Hanna (the JH of JHET) and I were in the same cohort and worked together on several projects. Genuinely one of the nicest humans on the planet. His partner, Elyse Tucker (the ET of JHET) was also at the same firm, working with Jason. After many years of working side by side, they cooked up a company.

Fast forward a few years. I left to start TLD, and then years later they struck out on their own. JHET is now a successful, rapidly growing Data Center Architecture firm.

But with rapid success came a problem: recruiting.

Turns out, summer interns don’t love working from the boss’s dining table. Who knew? (me, I knew).

And while some jobs lend themselves easily to being fully remote straight out of college, Architecture and Design is definitely a skill that you pick up sitting side by side with someone. It's very osmosis-y.

To attract and retain top talent, they needed an actual brick and mortar office—one that reflected their brand and their future. After touring a few spots, they landed in a seriously cool office building in Deep Ellum, Dallas, with original painted brick and factory bones, and most importantly, was upstairs from a taco place.

JHET knew it had the potential to be something great, but when they first started talking about designing the space, their original vision was: “We like gray?!?!”

Nope. That wasn’t going to cut it.

So, about 10 seconds into discussing design, space planning, furniture, and finishes, they decided: let’s call Tara.

Smart choice, guys.

THE BEFORE

The space had great bones—high ceilings, painted brick walls, and that cool industrial feel. But what it didn’t have? A layout that made sense for a growing firm, any meeting space whatsoever, and was an acoustic nightmare.

As Architects, they knew that a well-designed office is more than just desks and chairs—it’s about creating a place people actually want to be. And right now, this space wasn’t cutting it.

THE PLAN

Step one: give them a vibe.

The “we like gray” direction wasn’t going to cut it. Thankfully, knowing the client for 20 years gave me the freedom to take a tone that I don't usually take with clients, and I said, "yeah, we're not doing that." 🤣

JHET needed a flexible, creative space that reflected their cool, modern approach to Architecture and helped attract new talent. So, we made it our mission to make this office as un-boring-officey as possible.

Here’s what we tackled:

• Intentional space planning – making the office work for their current size while planning for future growth.

• A mix of collaboration + focus spaces – giving employees the option to work together or tuck away when needed.

• Cool lighting + art + plants – because sterile, fluorescent-lit corporate offices are a crime against humanity.

• Untraditional office furniture – comfortable, flexible pieces that feel more like a creative lounge than a cubicle farm, and pieces that feel like they were collected from the coolest estate sales, ever.

• A welcoming, cozy atmosphere – so employees might actually want to come in instead of working from home 24/7. A beer fridge won't hurt.

• Acoustics - treating the ceiling and the floor to make this a sound-happy workplace.

THE AFTER

This space went from industrial blank slate to a modern, inviting office that actually makes people want to hang out.

Let's take a tour.

If you don't know much about Dallas, Deep Ellum is the gritty former warehouse district that now is filled with bars, restaurants, and lots of neon signage. JHET was adamant that they wanted a true neon sign in their entryway. We were happy to oblige, and gave it some drama by placing it over an edgy black wall.

The original space plan from the landlords called for this to be a reception area, but for so many companies it just doesn't make sense to have a dedicated receptionist. This area was reimagined as a materials library to hold samples for their Data Center projects - and also look bad ass from the hallway, signaling to visitors what it is they actually do around here.

Did we stock the shelves with materials that we love that also complimented our chosen color palette? Yes, yes we did.

Through the library we start to get a peek at the office space proper. The exposed brick at the end of the hallway draws you back as the private offices and new conference room open up to this.

A cube-farm of drab gray workstations was not the vibe. The open office space is laid out with wood and metal benching style workstations, which give each employee some visual privacy while also keeping things open.

Plus, all the plants. Visually,* emotionally,* plants are such a great way to add life into an office (or home. Or any space, really).

Vintage style area rugs warm up the joint and give that cozy feeling of a 2004 Dave Matthews Band concert. I can almost hear the Ants Marching. Oh, and they also help with acoustics.

Speaking of acoustics, you can imagine how echoey this warehouse space was when we started. We installed sound baffles up in the exposed ceiling to help absorb all of that irritating noise. Much kinder on the ears, plus, it looks cool.

Let's spin around and have a look at this Break Room.

The bones of this were already in place. Props, because the finishes were great and totally in line with what we would have chosen. All we needed to do was add some seating and accessories. Oh, and...

A beer fridge.

At the old firm we all used to work for, every Friday at 4:30 the office would shut down, everybody would gather in the break room and grab a beer (or wine) and somebody would present a project they had going on. It was a way to stay in touch with people in the office you didn't normally get to see (it was a large firm, hundreds of folks) and see what everybody was up to design-wise.

This beer fridge keeps that tradition alive, but with new life. And obviously it had to be orange and not gray.

Also, the art above is an architect's drawing of the Brady Bunch house. Mike Brady was an Architect. A fun little easter egg for anyone paying attention.

On the other side of this living wall, we added flexible hoteling workstations for summer interns, visiting clients or consultants, and anyone who needs to spread out a little. This gives JHET flexibility to scale up and down as needed with interns, without having to move to the boss's dining table.

Since open offices don't allow for the most acoustic privacy, there are 3 phone rooms beyond this area.

We could have left them as white boxes, but WHAT'S THE FUN IN THAT! Obviously they needed wallpaper, cool light fixtures, art featuring Deep Ellum, and a funky desktop to house your laptop. The goal - best Zoom backdrops ever.

Let's round out our tour with a look at the private offices and conference room.

There are 3 private offices, and we wanted each to feel friendly with each other but have different personalities.

Each office has different furniture, wanting to feel collected over time. The art is a mix of abstract, graphic, and pieces with a wink and a nod to architecture.

The lady in the bunch gets a slightly more feminine office. A few more curves. A bit more softness. We have to balance out all of the industrial dude-ness.

While it might have made for better photos to clear the desks of monitors (we all like to pretend that computers and cords don't exist in real life) these jumbo monitors allow our clients to do what they do best. We worked around them and trying to make other more interesting focal points to draw the eye away from these necessary evils. 🤣

And finally, our new conference room.

A little insight into our world - towards the end of the documentation phase of a project, all of the construction drawings get printed on HUGE paper (think, big blueprints - but white) and everybody gathers around a table to review them. Clients. Architects and Designers. Engineers. Project Managers. A LOT OF PEOPLE. They needed a space large enough to host a crowd without having to rent a hotel ballroom (which is expensive and sucky).

We built out a looooong wood bench along one wall to allow for extra folks to pack into the meeting. Plus enough pillows to make it comfy enough for them to stay.

A giant conference table holds a crowd with seats designed for long meetings. Hope somebody makes a taco run.

JHET wanted a space that would attract and retain top talent. Now, they have an office that makes people excited to come in. Mission (critical) accomplished.

That's a Data Center joke.

It’s always special getting to design for people we’ve known forever. Helping our friends at JHET evolve from working at a dining table to a fully realized, personality-filled office was a dream. 

If you’re reading this from your sad, gray office and are longing for a workspace that’s actually cool, you know where to find us.