Configura has been around for decades now, but in many ways still operates like a startup that refuses to settle. The Swedish space planning software company has built a global business on the principle that complexity should disappear behind the interface; that designers should be able to configure offices with a few clicks while the mathematics, pricing and specifications handle themselves in the background.
Now the company is bringing that same philosophy to its own workspace. Configura recently signed a lease for nearly 16,000 square feet on the seventh floor of Bridgewater Place in downtown Grand Rapids, consolidating its North American operations into a single, more functional space overlooking the Grand River. It held an opening reception last week that brought together many of its customers from around the country to celebrate the new space.
Configura is actually reducing its square footage by a couple thousand feet from its previous location at 35 Oakes Street, where it had been spread across three floors for more than eight years.
The project to move the company and design a space that would reflect how its Grand Rapids team works was codenamed Project Naboo, a nod to the Star Wars world known for its beautiful scenery and peaceful culture. Configura tapped Yong In of INxD Studio and Jan Johnson, principal of Workplace Collective as its design and strategy partners.
The leadership wanted color. The old office had white walls and conservative finishes. The new space would be bold, vibrant and unmistakably Configura. In and Johnson, ran vision workshops, word exercises and image sorting sessions with Configura’s teams. Employees put green dots on images they liked, red dots on what they didn’t. The designers asked about brand, culture, mission, adjacency, workflow. They wanted to know what made Configura work before they designed where Configura worked.
What emerged was a concept built around the letter C. Collaboration. Color. Collage. Community. Configura itself is a collage with different departments, different roles, different global locations all coming together. Engineers, developers and sales teams operate as distinct units but depend on each other. The CET software they build is similar: individual components that mean little alone but become powerful when assembled.
The designers translated that idea into pixels. Configura’s website already used hexagonal shapes and pixelated graphics. The design team ran with it. Pixels became the visual language of the space and represents modular, adaptable and infinitely reconfigurable. Just like the software.
The floor plan came next. Young and Jen worked with Configura teams to map out spatial requirements using post-it notes and mural boards. Each team identified their most business-critical activities, and those activities translated into spatial needs. Adjacencies were plotted. Flow patterns were tested. The result was a block plan that balanced efficiency with flexibility, all designed entirely in CET.
The space itself has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Grand River. Configura consolidated from three floors at the old location into one cohesive workspace. Most of the walls are demountable, built for future reconfiguration as needs change.
The finishes tell the story. A branded feature wall greets visitors at the elevator, a similar wall that appears in every Configura office around the world, a visual reminder of the company’s global reach. Next to it, a mural by a local artist mural artist, an ArtPrize participant who painted a world map as a mosaic of interconnected shapes. Each piece is distinct but contributes to the whole. The mural ties back to a similar map at Configura’s headquarters in Linköping, Sweden, and reflects Grand Rapids’ own identity as a city of murals.
There’s a history wall curated by the marketing team, showcasing milestones from Configura’s 25-year journey. A moss wall by Scandinavian Spaces, called Pixel, that brings biophilia into the space. The kitchen features three retro posters that Configura already owned. Arranged horizontally, they read: “Design Spaces Intelligently.” It’s the company tagline, expressed as a visual collage.
The workspace includes open collaboration areas and quieter zones for focused work. In and Johnson consulted with neurodiverse employees during the design process to understand what worked and what didn’t in typical office layouts. The result: a “quiet collab” area in one corner that functions like a library — a place for concentrated conversation without distraction.
Configura brought in Scandinavian colors, blues and yellows reminiscent of the Swedish flag, throughout the space. The carpet was existing, but almost everything else changed. Furniture was handpicked at NeoCon by Peter Brandinger, Configura’s North American leader, and the design team. Phase two will add ceiling elements, additional lighting and serpentine seating for a common area.
The move to Bridgewater Place stabilizes the company’s presence in Grand Rapids, where it has operated for two decades. The city remains central to Configura’s North American strategy, anchored by proximity to the office furniture manufacturers that form the core of its client base.
From the seventh floor, employees now have panoramic views of the Grand River and the Bridge Street corridor. The space is functional and adaptable, a pixel-perfect reflection of a company that has spent 25 years making it easier for everyone else to design spaces intelligently.
