Inside OurFamilyWizard’s North Loop Headquarters
Tech company OurFamilyWizard bounced from one office to the next for two decades before finally settling into a striking North Loop space that feels like home and can grow with the team.
OurFamilyWizard is a co-parenting app designed to simplify scheduling and communication after a divorce or separation. The Minneapolis-based company operates on a flexible work model, but with 83 of its 140 employees living in the Twin Cities, OurFamilyWizard wanted to create a hub for team building. In October, the company took over the top two floors of the historic Loose Wiles Building, which had housed Sunshine Biscuits, maker of Cheez-Its and Animal Crackers. Studio BV, which offices in the same building, reimagined the space for a new era of work, prioritizing casual engagements and technology for seamless hybrid interactions.
“Ultimately, we want the space to play a big role in helping our team thrive together.”
—CEO Nick VanWagner
The space, which occupies two floors of the building, benefits from skylights and an open floor plan that lets natural light pour in. Light wood floors, plus wood beams and exposed pipes painted white keep it feeling bright. While there are about 90 individual workstations (assigned desks are available for those who want them), the focus is on collaboration: a family-style café table and booths, benches along the perimeter, and living-room-inspired lounge areas. The centerpiece is a wide staircase that not only connects the two-level office, but also serves as a large meeting area with a giant screen overhead to include remote workers.
“Ultimately, we want the space to play a big role in helping our team thrive together,” says CEO Nick VanWagner.
To that end, Studio BV intentionally created unique eating areas on each level: a coffee bar on the sixth floor, a full kitchen on the seventh. “This gets everybody together and moving throughout the space, and just gets everybody seeing each other every day,” says Courtney Lehmann, a partner at Studio BV.
Already, VanWagner says, the space is enhancing company culture. “Just being in a room with other people laughing and enjoying each other and being motivated by the path we’re on together—the space helps bring that feeling together.”
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Who: OurFamilyWizard
Where: 701 N. Washington Ave., Minneapolis
Size: 25,000 square feet
Designer: Studio BV
Photographer: Corey Gaffer Photography
