Blu Dot Moves Headquarters

The new offices are more than 5000-square-feet larger than their previous facilities.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 1/5/2010 12:00:00 AM

The New Year has brought Blu Dot new digs. The home furnishings manufacturer is moving on up to the Northeast side of Minneapolis, to a deluxe new office space that is 5000-square-feet larger than their old one.

The new offices are just five miles from their previous home, but a world away in terms of atmosphere: they're located in the "industrial nerve center" of Minneapolis, across the bridge from the city's bustling downtown in a neighborhood rapidly becoming one of the metropolis' most creative areas.



Co-founders Maurice Blanks and John Christakos designed the new space along with architect Troy Kampa, whose studio is adjacent to the Blu Dot offices. The trio used a palette of concrete, Douglas fir, glass, steel, and brick for the space, which will give the company the flexibility to grow in the future.

The three also tried to preserve as many details as they could from the building itself, a newly renovated and rehabilitated former steel fabrication facility where B-26 wings were made during World War II. "When we first saw this space, we were amazed," says Blanks. "The volume of the space and the natural light were incredible. And the old industrial construction has such great character—simple, humble, but still really beautiful. Coincidentally, we are just a block away from our very first location, where we started the business twelve years ago."

 

The move comes on the heels of the opening last year of Blu Dot's first ever flagship store, in New York's SoHo neighborhood, that carries the company's 100-plus item collection.

Images courtesy of Blu Dot.