Thanks to a sweeping renovation project, the common areas at 3M Company’s Maplewood headquarters reportedly have a new look for the first time since the buildings went up in the 1960s.
 
According to the Pioneer Press, the recently completed makeover transformed dark hallways and windowless conference rooms into wide-open spaces and glass-enclosed meeting areas to reflect a more modern work space. The newly designed areas also include an employee mall with shops and services, including a Starbucks coffee kiosk and a U.S. Bank branch, the newspaper reported.
 
In addition, one of the new hub areas reportedly houses a secure social networking system for employees, which includes a table-sized collection of flat-panel screens displaying short Facebook-style posts and employees’ pictures.
 
The company hired two well-known architects—Austria-based Peter Ebner and Los Angeles-based Hitoshi Abe—to design the spaces, the Pioneer Press reported. MS&R, a Minneapolis-based architecture firm that specializes in adaptive reuse of existing structures, meanwhile, made Ebner’s and Abe’s designs a reality.
 
3M materials were reportedly used everywhere in the new spaces, including light diffusers and flat-panel screens that use 3M optical film. To read the full Pioneer Press story and view pictures of the 3M headquarters’ newly redesigned areas, click here.