Case Studies

Space Planning For a New Headquarters

American Water
Camden, New Jersey
American water office in Camden, New Jersey

“Wisp is versatile. Changes can be made very easily and it helped us identify where departments and individuals will sit in the new space.”

– Adam Landis, Facility Manager, American Water

The new 225,000 SF headquarters consolidates several locations for increased efficiency and enhanced employee experience.

Headquarters are dynamic by nature, with headcounts and departmental organization changing frequently. During this three-year project, the design team routinely studied headcount and departmental changes to resolve departmental adjacencies. To streamline this tedious and time-intensive process, Gensler utilized Wisp.

Final blocking plans are needed to prepare seating assignments for a phased relocation. Wisp allowed American Water’s facilities team to have hands-on engagement with the data-driven tool and quickly develop and study their own unlimited scenarios. Using Wisp prior to their move empowered American Water to streamline the seating assignment process in an interactive way, bypassing what is typically a manual and time consuming exercise.

A complete seating plan must be provided to the move company to plan for the logistics of transferring the boxes and equipment into a new space. Incorporating Wisp into the design process provided a foundation for American Water to continue managing their asset’s changes in a more efficient and economical way.

Services provided

  • Interior design
  • Architecture
  • Brand design
    • Digital experience
    • Environmental graphics
    • Identity
  • Consulting
    • Change management
    • Workplace analysis
  • Wisp
    • Blocking scenarios
    • Move sheet report
    • Live floor plans
    • Seating assignments

“The new workplace design solution is based on modularity and flexibility, and American Water needed to know that changes could be accommodated after construction was complete. We recommended Wisp so the client could interface with the design solution and create unlimited scenarios on their own. Wisp provided real-time feedback with potential solutions that gave our client the confidence that the design will continue to work for them. It also made it easier for them to transition from simply studying change to actively managing it moving forward as a Wisp subscriber. We put the client in the driver seat, which saves them time and money.”

– Stephen Freret, Design Manager, Gensler Philadelphia
225,000
sq ft
700
employees moved