Designer Jose Esquinca's Inspiration and Reflection For The UrbanWorks Office Build-Out

Written by Whitni Mungin

Read Jose Esquinca's reflection and find out what the inspiration was for UrbanWork's office build-out, one of Urban Equities's latest completed projects.

In April, Urban Equities, Inc. completed a 3,000-square foot office renovation for UrbanWorks Architects at 125 S. Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois.  This project is significant to UrbanWorks and Urban Equities because it marks 25 years of business for Urban Equities and UrbanWorks. The UrbanWorks build-out was a design build project that began in 2017; Urban Equities led the financial analysis process to help UrbanWorks decide between two spaces. Also, Urban Equities was able to provide creative solutions for dealing with unseen as issues, which often occur during renovations. Most importantly, Urban Equities was trusted to deliver the space on a tight timeline.

Jose Esquinca, who has been with UrbanWorks for four years, lead the design efforts with project manager Pablo Jones. The following is a conversation with Jose Esquinca about his experience working on such a special project .

What are you most proud of as the designer of the new UrbanWorks space?

What I’m most proud of as the designer of the new UrbanWorks Space is finding the space vivid and full of comfort as the intended design came to life. Translating our new office space from sketch form to actual materials and looking at the space as a whole is a moment to be proud of as we can definitely call this place our own urban workspace.

What was the design inspiration for the space?

The design inspiration for the new office space was derived from the workflow. It was really important to focus on the existing conditions of our former office space. We were somewhat separated into workspace clusters where the functionality lacked cohesive direction from one space to the next. Taking advantage of the form of the new space, we came up with the “bar” flanked by two collaborative spaces: the conference room and idea space. The studio would be the flow of creative energy and thinking being bound by a floating canopy flowing through the office space.

Did you feel any additional pressure, because unlike other projects, you and your coworkers are utilizing the space?

I think the pressure was more on getting the drawing items in place in order to make the office space a reality. As a firm, we all share a certain aesthetic and way of creating solutions for well-designed spaces, and that really helped us define the new office space where everyone can enjoy working in.

If you could design one thing differently (no barriers to coworkers needs, budget, or resources) what would it be?

If I could redesign one thing out of the office space, it would probably be the amount of kitchen space we have. We have a compact kitchen, and you’d be surprised how much space you can need at work. We hardly spend more than 10 minutes during the day back there; so you can also see why you don’t need that much space.

What do you love about working at UrbanWorks?

What I love about working at UrbanWorks is the fact that you work in a collaborative workspace where everyone’s design input counts. As a design associate of UrbanWorks, it’s my mission to make sure we put forth well-designed ideas that become real spaces—live buildings impacting the lives in society.

Whitni is a Project Manager with Urban Equities. She is inspired by creating sustainable change in communities through development. When not working, Whitni is active volunteering in several organizations or enjoying the Chicago lake front.

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