When is a workplace more than just a place for work?
By transforming their offices into collaborative environments and impactful customer experiences, businesses across DuPage County are making us rethink the modern workplace—and even work itself.
These are eight of DuPage’s smartest, sleekest and healthiest workplaces in 2022.
Flavorchem SRS Center for Taste Innovation
Downers Grove, IL | Flavor/Ingredient/Innovation
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Located on the campus of the company’s global headquarters, the new SRS Center for Taste Innovation gives Flavorchem customers a boutique experience—encouraging innovation, collaboration, and experimentation with trending foods, beverages, flavors and ingredients.
And while the work is focused on tastes and scents, the workplace itself delivers an unforgettable sensory experience.
As you enter the building, you step into an open marketplace. Modeled after trendy urban food halls, the sights, smells and flavors immediately get you in the right mindset. Grab a snack and a coffee, then head to the building’s expansive R&D kitchen, the dedicated pilot plant, the Flavor Lab, or a sensory room for blind and controlled testing. Later, after a long day of working with new products and technologies, you can unwind in one of the premium guest suites.
What makes the SRS Center for Taste Innovation special is that it combines the functional aspects of flavor innovation – state-of-the-art equipment, machines and capabilities – with a matching aesthetic experience. In addition to the urban food hall-style marketplace entrance, there are four specialized application centers including one modeled after a vintage bakery, another that feels like a trendy bar, and a confectionery-centric application center that seems like a place where Willy Wonka would feel right at home.
Get an inside look at the SRS Center for Taste Innovation.
Architect/Design Team: Lauren Sahs, Designer; Brian Campbell, PM; Matt Meives, Architect.
About Flavorchem: From humble beginnings, Flavorchem has grown to incorporate two business divisions and four global campuses. Today, the family-owned enterprise manufactures over 5,000 flavors, fragrances, and private-label food products annually.
Fun Fact: Announced in 2020, this 25,000-square-foot facility was built on a warehouse affectionally called the “Boneyard,” where old equipment and furniture was stored.
Sassetti Headquarters
Oak Brook, IL | Accounting/Finance
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Birthday cakes are nice, but Sassetti decided to celebrate 100 years of business with something better—a beautiful new headquarters.
Stepping into the accounting firm’s Oak Brook office today, it’s hard to believe that it was a blank canvas just over a year ago. In summer of 2021, Sassetti began building their new office with a simple goal: to create a space where their team could feel happy and productive.
Today, it seems like they’ve done just that. With natural light and pops of color setting the mood, the 9,500-square-foot office brings together collaborative workspaces, meeting rooms and focus areas, giving employees the flexibility to work how they want, where they want.
Architect/Designer: Dawn Newman, Newman Architecture
About Sassetti: Started in 1921, Sassetti LLC is a CPA firm providing tax strategy, accounting support and assurance services for closely held business owners, family run companies, individuals, not-for-profit organizations and SEC-regulated entities.
Fun Fact: Newman Architecture, the firm behind Sassetti’s new office, has designed a number of recognizable buildings across DuPage, from the Girl Scouts of America’s Camp Greene Wood in Woodridge to the Warrenville Public Library.
REMPREX Headquarters
Lisle, IL | Logistics, Technology and Data Solutions
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REMPREX promises to take their clients into the future. When you step into the Remote Operations Center (ROC) of their Lisle facility, it almost feels like you’re already there.
Built in 2020 in Lisle’s Olympian Office Center, the ROC is the centerpiece of the company’s new 33,693-square-foot headquarters. From the real-time TV wall – which makes the ROC feel like a NASA control room – to the custom switchable glass of the executive boardroom, the entire facility feels designed to get you in a future-focused mindset, while amenities like a large lounge with a training room prioritize employee wellness.
From their sleek, high-tech headquarters, REMPREX leverages data insights, human-assisted technology and decades of first-hand experience to help today’s clients think like the businesses of tomorrow.
Architect/Design Contributors: The Interior Design Group LTD (IDG); Larry Dohrer, Architect; Diane Hansa, Designer; The Missner Group, Management.
About REMPREX: Founded in 2006, REMPREX creates customized operating solutions by combining a broad suite of value-added services for intermodal terminals to improve on safety, service levels, cost control and facility capacity. In addition to their Lisle headquarters, the company has locations at more than 80 rail, port and transportation facilities across North America.
Fun Fact: The designers of the REMPREX facility worked hard to incorporate the brand into nearly every aspect of the facility, from floors that feature REMPREX colors to wall art that showcases the company’s reach.
The Shuman
Naperville, IL | Class-A Office Building
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While major cities are known for offering some of the most luxurious working environments, the Chicago suburbs have turned the tables. In recent years, a number of offices have appeared across DuPage that rival the best of their urban counterparts—proving that you can have a luxury workspace close to home.
One of the most striking examples? The Shuman in Naperville. Purchased in 2018 and renovated in 2019, this 350,000-square-foot space has been reinvented as a socially activated, multi-tenant, class-A office building. Here, there’s no such thing as an ‘ordinary’ workday. From the five-story, light-filled atrium to the state-of-the-art gym and the rotating selection of Chicagoland restaurants, the Shuman delivers a truly luxurious experience centered on collaboration, community, health and wellness.
Explore the Shuman’s high-end amenities and urban-inspired workplace experience.
Design/Renovation: Franklin Partners
Fun Fact: Want to practice your swing? Head to the Shuman Open, an on-site golf simulator open for year-round play.
M/I Homes Chicago-Area Headquarters
Naperville, IL | Homebuilding
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As one of the nation’s leading homebuilders, M/I approaches homebuilding with the idea that every square foot must serve a purpose.
M/I applied that same principle when moving their Chicago-area headquarters to CityGate Centre in Naperville, an office where every square foot (all 26,669 of them) serves a purpose.
Representing Naperville’s largest office space move in 2022 thus far, the new space brings together all of M/I’s core services, from homebuilding operations and design to mortgage and title. By bringing these services under one roof, the company can enhance collaboration among its workers and streamline the customer experience.
The new office’s focus on health helps employees feel right at home. In response to COVID-19, Calamos Real Estate installed an ionized clean-air system in the building that houses M/I’s office. This state-of-the-art filtration system eliminates harmful viruses and bacteria from the air without producing harmful levels of ozone or other byproducts, allowing employees to breathe easy while staying true to M/I’s sustainability commitment.
The new location is also key to acquiring and retaining talent. Located among the communities where many of their employees live, CityGate Centre offers employees and customers access to shopping, dining, health services, a luxury hotel and luxury apartment rentals. Learn more about CityGate Centre’s Class A office spaces and amenities.
Architect: Ron Walker, EWP Architects
About M/I Homes: Founded in 1976 by Irving and Melvin Schottenstein, M/I Homes has fulfilled the dreams of over 140,000 homeowners and grown to become one of the nation’s leading homebuilders.
Fun Fact: All of the attributes you see on the “We Wall” (pictured above) were submitted by M/I associates.
Norix Headquarters
West Chicago, IL | Design & Advanced Manufacturing
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For Norix, a leader in the design and production of furniture for healthcare, corrections and other challenging environments, sustainability is front and center. Now, the company’s new corporate headquarters in West Chicago is bringing that value to life—inside and out.
Much like M/I Homes’ new Naperville office, the Norix corporate headquarters in West Chicago consolidates the company’s core services under one roof. Here, products are manufactured, assembled, packaged and stored alongside a showroom for customers and the company’s corporate offices. This allows Norix to streamline their operations and improve collaboration, while inviting customers and employees to join in their commitment to sustainability.
The new building and campus embody that commitment. Located within the 800-acre DuPage Business Center, the 22-acre Norix campus is inspired by the natural prairie that existed prior to the industrial park’s development. That comes with some perks; the landscape’s natural grasses and wetlands require less mowing—less herbicides and fertilizers, too. Meanwhile, paved surfaces are designed to filter stormwater back into the ground, reducing the need for irrigation.
Then there’s the building itself. Designed according to LEED Gold standards, the 205,563-square foot headquarters is mostly powered by clean-energy sources – including on-site solar panels – while features like double-paneled insulated curtain glass and sunshades reduce energy consumption. Powered by clean energy and immersed in natural light, the Norix team integrates green manufacturing principles into their design and production, including product lines made with recycled materials.
That commitment to nature and sustainability extends to the employee experience, with outdoor patios, walking paths and natural interior lighting helping workers feel connected to nature. In-house showers encourage employees to bike to work, while preferred parking spaces are reserved for carpoolers and fuel-efficient vehicles.
Learn more about Norix’s Green Policy.
Architect Team: Heitman Architects
About Norix: Leveraging more than 35 years of experience, Norix designs innovative, robust furniture that meets the real-world need for humanizing challenging environments.
Fun Fact: Heitman Architects, the team behind the new Norix headquarters, has designed more than eight million square feet of LEED-certified industrial buildings, including the first of its kind in Illinois.
P4 Operations Center
Downers Grove, IL | Private Security/Crime Prevention
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In the security industry, information is everything. And at the state-of-the-art P4 Operations Center in Downers Grove, information from thousands of sources – cameras, alarms and other sensors – comes together to help the company provide some of the best security solutions in the business.
P4 provides security for thousands of clients, from schools and hospitals to government officials and even large-scale events. And while they employ thousands of on-site officers in Illinois and elsewhere, their Downers Grove Operations Center functions as the organization’s eyes and ears.
From here, operators tap into real-time data and coordinate with security officers to monitor their clients’ locations and assets, prevent potential crimes, and respond to emergencies. Operators can even lock and unlock doors and perform talk-down procedures to help de-escalate situations hundreds of miles away. The Operations Center also enables P4 to provide cost-effective alternatives to traditional officer staffing, including remote alarm response, video monitoring and other off-site solutions, giving P4 the flexibility to serve a wider variety of clientele.
In addition to the command center, the 11,000-square-foot Operations Center is also home to P4 Academy, a training facility where security officers take courses in subjects like Emergency Management, Tactical Training and Human Resources Training.
Designed By: P4 President and CEO Lawrence A. Doria
About P4: A locally focused security company supported by state, national and global resources, P4 provides on-site and remote security services for corporations, governments, schools, hospitals, private individuals and others.
Fun Fact: The P4 team recently worked with local police to help prevent a potential car theft at a Chicago-area dealership. Read more about it here.
Venture X Oak Brook – Chicago
Oak Brook, IL | Shared Workspace
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In 2021, businesses and professionals everywhere were grappling with new hybrid-work models (and many of us still are).
Meanwhile, Venture X was building a solution.
With more than 28,000 square feet of space and 80 private offices, Venture X Oak Brook – Chicago is a shared workspace designed for today’s hybrid working models. Flexible, adaptable and featuring all the amenities a team of up to 10 employees might need, the space is designed to accommodate work in all its forms.
Need a quiet place to focus? Step into a turn-key private office with sound suppression. Want to host an event? There’s a space for that. Need to pull the team together for a brainstorm? Head to an on-demand meeting room.
While Venture X provides tenants with the privacy and security they need, it also brings them together as a community. During and after the workday, tenants can relax, mingle and collaborate in a variety of shared spaces—from a café with gourmet coffee and tea to a wellness room, member lounges, and a large, fully furnished outdoor terrace. Venture X also regularly hosts events to help professionals network, meet potential business partners, and share best practices across industries.
Explore the space and take a virtual tour here.
About Venture X Chicago – Oak Brook: Built in 2021, Venture X is a locally owned and operated workspace providing flexible terms, turn-key private offices, event space and on-demand meeting and desk solutions. Private offices can accommodate individuals or teams of up to ten employees, and members are welcome to retrofit their office to suit their needs.
Fun Fact: As a tenant at Venture X Chicago – Oak Brook, you get access to all of Venture X’s locations around the world, from Canada and Mexico to Dubai, India and more.
Keep Exploring the Offices and Workplaces of DuPage County
DuPage is home to a diverse ecosystem of businesses from a variety of industries. Over decades of growth and evolution, this ecosystem been nurtured by our diverse workforce (more than 640,000 strong), our education system, our regional supply chain, our pro-business policies, and the high quality of life that helps us attract top talent.
With that economic growth has come a flourishing office market, where local businesses are introducing bold innovations that turn their ‘workplaces’ into collaborative environments, social spaces and impactful customer experiences.
Want to see more of DuPage’s smartest, sleekest and healthiest workplaces? Take a look at our 2021 list here and our 2020 list here.
