Irvine, California-based Golden State Foods (GSF) unveiled their newest office space and Innovation Center in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The space features product development workstations and was designed to be a food innovation hub as well as to replicate full-scale plant production systems for efficient commercialization.
Ware Malcomb provided interior architecture and design services for the 4,300-square-foot space, which recently won the People’s Choice Award from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). Summit Design + Build acted as contractor for the project, located at 322 South Green Street in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago.
Inspired by the energy of its West Loop location, the design team implemented a concept called “The Chicago Kitchen Table” to bring the project to life. Like the kitchen table of a home, the space is designed to serve as the heart and soul that connects Golden State Foods’ products and their restaurant partners. Classic, timeless materials were utilized throughout the space including wood, glass, brick, black iron and concrete.
“Our goal was to create a space that fuses Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood culture with Golden State Foods’ trusted, global brand,” said Dawn Riegel, director, interior architecture and design of Ware Malcomb’s Chicago and Oak Brook offices. “It was important to combine a hospitality feel with a world-class culinary and office space that reflects the innovation and values of Golden State Foods.”
In 2014, Ware Malcomb provided architecture and interior design services for the LEED Gold-certified, 156,691-square-foot facility for Golden State Foods located at 8901 W. 47th Street in McCook, Illinois. The facility includes a distribution center, Class A office space, a test kitchen and a separate truck maintenance building.
The Innovation Center is the tenth to be developed for GSF, which has food manufacturing facilities servicing iconic customers all throughout the world. Other centers are located in Arkansas City, Kansas; Auckland, New Zealand; Cairo, Egypt; City of Industry, California; Conyers, Georgia; Guangzhou, China; Shanghai, China; Sydney, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand.
“As GSF continues to grow as a global food manufacturer across five continents, we’re continuing to increase our collaboration with our customers who rely on GSF to bring new and innovative food concepts that support their brands,” said Brian Dick, corporate senior vice president, global manufacturing for GSF. “With this goal in mind, GSF is investing in new talent, facilities and technology all over the world in order to continue to be a true partner to our strategic customers.”
The ten Innovation Centers provide the right environment for quality experts, nutritionists, chefs, food scientists and regulatory specialists to collaborate with GSF customers to develop hundreds of new products each year. Due to increased consumer demand for cleaner labels worldwide, these experts also leverage the Innovation Centers to develop signature products with healthier and more recognizable ingredients.
