While our list of capabilities is lengthy, we really excel in three main areas: collaborating, communicating and designing the places that make communities home. We do these things with creativity, enthusiasm and steadfast dedication. And, we do them well.
Text here about how DSGW incorporates all of the Core Philosophies into all of its services.
Our design process creates spaces that integrate health and wellbeing into every project — whether new construction or remodeling your office space.
As designers and architects, we are empowered by our clients to help create and shape their built environment. The spaces we occupy can have a huge impact on the way we feel and operate. We strive to create an indoor space that is comfortable, efficient, restorative, energizing and of course inspiring. In order to do this – we listen to the client and put ourselves in the shoes of the people who will use and design the space.
COMPREHENSIVE INTERIOR DESIGN
SPACE PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING
BRAND INTEGRATION
WORKPLACE DESIGN
FURNITURE SELECTION & SPECIFICATION
INTERIOR FINISHES AND MATERIAL
SELECTION
CUSTOM MILLWORK DESIGN
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
COMPETITIVE BIDDING
RESEARCH
DESIGN STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT
SIGNAGE AND WAYFINDING
ARTWORK CONSULTATION & COORDINATION
COLOR STUDIES AND ANALYSIS
FIXTURES, FURNITURE & EQUIPMENT
TENANT BUILD OUT
TENANT DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
Whether at work or not, people spend a lot of time staring into computer screens. But, we still need to be around other people; and we need to leave our chairs. Wellness in the workplace starts with incentives to be more active—with options such as adjustable sit/stand desks that can be raised to a standing position for typing or taking part in a conference call.
For the St. Louis County Virginia Government Services Center, we applied “active design guidelines” to improve the daily well-being of employees and the public they serve. Developed by the American Institute of Architects, the guidelines call for circulation spaces such as light-filled stairways and hallways that encourage people to get up and move around, to use the stairs instead of the elevator, to have an impromptu meeting on the landing.
DSGW grouped the offices at the center to allow a circulation path around the entire building where everyone can walk and have access to daylight and view of the outdoors.
For many public buildings, there area real advantages in moving private offices away from the window.. While moving around the corridor loop, people can pause or find a seat to absorb the sunlight on a January day. Nobody gets a favored window office, but everyone shares pleasant spaces with transparent partitions that draw daylight and outdoor views deep inside.
DSGW also designed small break-out areas with comfortable chairs and tables where people can take their work or talk together. Wellness at work calls for such quiet spaces—rooms to take a private phone call, for meditation, or to have a conversation with a friend. These retreats within the office are and essential part of the social balance of a healthy indoor workspace.
For example, the advent of elevators and escalators gradually demoted stairways from grand public spaces to utilitarian stairwells tucked in a corner. Today, they are often isolated and people are afraid to use them for reasons of safety and because they have no windows and not well lit.
But, stairs don’t have to be this way. DSGW makes stairways an alluring option again—often at a modest cost. By placing stairways in sunlit atriums and making landings where people can sit and talk, stairs can be both inviting and social.
In northern climates with short days and low sunlight, Seasonal Affective Disorder can impair the happiness and productivity of many. Poor indoor air circulation increases the prevalence of airborne viruses and and other conditions.
It’s a very basic human need to be near sunlight. Yet many offices and healthcare environments are inward looking with views reserved for the top echelon. For our own office, DSGW renovated the historic Spina Building, originally built for the Boston Music Company in 1911. Once a ballroom, the second story is a beautiful tall, clear-span space with soaring windows. We renovated these and the maple vaulted ceiling so that everyone who works here now has access to daylight.
This is much more than a logo or tag line. Your brand must be woven into the built environment and can even be invisible to those who work in the space. The method we use to capture your brand through design is driven by you. Do you want bold, unmistakable brand elements built into your environment, or a symbolic and subtle nod to the values and mission of your business? We work alongside you to decipher how this integration will take shape. This is our passion.
Duluth
2 West First Street, Suite 201
Duluth, MN 55802
218.727.2626
Twin Cities / Minneapolis
3479 Lake Elmo Avenue
Lake Elmo, MN 55042
651.784.7924
Virginia
417 Second Street South
Virginia, MN 55792
218.741.7962
Washburn
14 East Bayfield Street
Washburn, WI 54891
715.373.7001
Bemidji
522 Beltrami Ave NW, Suite 109
Bemidji, MN 56601
218.210.0382