Be Open to the Unexpected Path
Erika Reuter on Project Managing the Design of WPP’s Massive Workplace
Erika Reuter. Photo: Matthew Septimus.
Erika Reuter ’06 (BFA)/’13 (MFA-2) never expected to be a Registered Architect or a project manager. Now she’s both. Her drive and openness to new challenges have moved her interior design career forward.
Reuter, a principal at HOK, was one of two project managers who orchestrated the design and construction of the recently completed 700,000 SF WPP/Group M offices at 3 World Trade Center in New York City. The vertical campus for the world’s largest advertising and public relations media company includes branded offices for WPP/Group M’s leaders and seven of its agencies—Essence, MediaCom, Mindshare, Wavemaker, Xaxis, [M]Platform, Openmind—as well as Kantar, WPP’s data information firm. It’s a triumph of workplace design that has already garnered awards, including the IFMA New York City Chapter Award for Excellence in Design + Construction. Reuter began her higher education as a BFA student at NYSID and went on to complete the MFA-2 program at the College. She started at HOK as a junior designer in 2008, advanced to senior designer, and then made her first foray into project management in 2015, at the outset of the WPP/Group M project. She’s NCIDQ and LEED AP certified, and became a Registered Architect (RA) as well. She’s the mother of an infant and a thesis advisor for NYSID’s MFA-2 program. Reuter is incredibly busy, yet always open to the next challenge. We chat about her choices here.
Why did you choose to become a Registered Architect?
I found myself in my office, sitting next to people who went to architecture school who were doing the exact same work as I was. Nonetheless, as interior designers, we must have our work rubber stamped by an architect in order to get it built. I wanted my skills validated because interior designers bring the same skills to interiors, plus a working knowledge of the decorative arts. I found out I was eligible for the exam, the Architect Registration Examination (ARE), sat for it, and passed. It was important to me that I have this independence.
Will you tell us about the concept behind HOK’s award-winning design of the WPP/Group M workplace that was completed in 2019?
The overall concept, and the challenge we had to overcome, was that we had to design eight different operating companies under one corporate umbrella. Each entity had a different aesthetic and culture, and all of these companies were previously independent, with distinct brands. The RFP (request for proposal) from WPP indicated that they wanted to have a separate designer for each operating company. WPP/Group M also required its own, overarching branded spaces and visual identity. They needed a flexible, changeable space because they are always acquiring new companies. We were charged with creating a master plan that would accommodate the needs of the parent company and celebrate the uniqueness of each operating company. This project required both a master design plan phase and a design phase for each operating company. In the master planning phase, we set strong guidelines and rules for all spaces that would exist in each operating company.
Each operating company design included three kinds of spaces: fixed spaces like copy rooms which were to be used only by employees; “bespoke” spaces that were client-facing like reception areas; and middle-ground “kit of parts” areas like conference rooms that contained pre-selected elements but still allowed the designers some level of choice. We were also tasked with designing two floors of amenities to be shared by the employees of all of the companies. These floors, which included a grab-and-go restaurant, a mini-doctor’s office, a career center, corporate training rooms, and an IT help bar, had a distinct design team because they were intended to be un-branded, or rather, brand-neutral, spaces.
Will you tell us about your role in the WPP/Group M project?
My role as project manager was to make sure we were staffed, on budget, and on schedule. I had to strategize our project delivery and handle day-to-day contact with the client and all consultants. There was another level to this project: I was the enforcer as far as rules we had set out in master planning. I was the consistent link between the clients, the designers for the operating companies, the parent company designers, the amenities team, and the three committees that guided the whole process. In order to move any aspect of the design forward, we had to present plans to and get approval from a steering committee, a committee of executives from all of the operating companies, and a technical committee, so it was a huge amount of planning, coordination, and communication.
Why did you choose to go into project management?
Typically, as a junior staff member at a big firm you touch everything, every part of the design and construction process, but as you get more senior, you have to specialize in the technical or design side of our industry. I was lucky at HOK in that even as I advanced, I got to do everything, but I knew that could not last forever. When the opportunity came up to project manage the WPP/Group M project, I saw it as a way to keep my hands in design and technical without having to choose one over the other. What I enjoy about project management is that it thrusts you into a mentorship role. I’ve always gravitated toward teaching (and as you know, I’ve taught at NYSID). There is something fulfilling about guiding others through situations that are new to them. Teaching teaches you about yourself.
What’s your best piece of advice for an emerging designer?
Be open to everything. Volunteer to do things outside of your comfort zone. Everybody goes to school for design, but you have to master the technical and less glamorous parts of the process to be a better designer and make sure your design is executed the way you intended. You will find growth in the challenges that make you uncomfortable.
How is the COVID-19 pandemic changing workplace design?
All our clients are asking what we are hearing and recommending as new office design solutions in response to the virus. We acknowledge there will be changes in office culture, design, and policy, but what that looks like will be different for every client. My good friend is an ER doctor and it’s been interesting to have ongoing conversations about the pandemic and the possible effects it might have on worldwide culture and design.