Federal Home Loan Banks

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Location


New Jersey, USA

Completion Date


2018

Sector


Banking & Finance




Introduction


Federal Home Loan Bank envisioned its new office space, located in Jersey City, New Jersey, as a place to attract and impress visitors while facilitating collaboration among its employees. The Bank (FHLB) sought to achieve its objectives through modern, contemporary design and technology to provide an optimised experience throughout its office space and meeting rooms. FHLB enlisted PTS to assist with the IT, AV and Security design to ensure the right technology is in place to support its ambitions.

Recognising the important role technology plays in creating an impressive, new workspace, FHLB engaged PTS early. Architects could then design rooms around potential technology solutions, creating an optimised environment reducing the need to retrofit technology and ultimately allowing the project to remain on track.

Project Overview


PTS worked closely with FHLB to understand its ambitions and culture before designing, procuring and implementing solutions that support FHLB’s specific needs. In each meeting, PTS deployed video conferencing technologies and a wireless content-sharing solution which allows up to eight people to connect to and present on one display with ease. Robust, yet cost-effective, video conferencing solutions also improve connections with the company’s satellite offices, improving communications. A robust WiFi infrastructure supported by a strong network was also designed and built out.

A good meeting environment depends not only on the aesthetics or technology within the room, but acoustics too. Glass features heavily in the front-of-house meeting room designs and as a result, PTS needed to ensure that the technology was not only intuitive, but the surroundings did not compromise the audio quality. PTS placed both ceiling and table microphones in each room as well as absorption features in the ceilings and floors preventing the sound from distorting.

Along with a focus on areas for external visitors, a project highlight was the interactive 60ft video wall found in the company’s command centre, an area dedicated to monitoring and looking out for potential market threats. The video wall sits at the centre of the new command centre which brings together three previously disparate teams into one carefully designed area to boost communication and collaboration between teams. It provides FHLB with an improved way of monitoring and displaying key information. Employees can display up to 20 videos and custom configurations simultaneously according to their needs. Depending on the scenario, data will trigger new configurations, allowing those working in the area to shift their attention to the most important information, allowing FHLB to monitor threats easily and efficiently.

The new office space goes beyond simply providing FHLB with a space to work. The inclusion of recreational spaces, including well-being rooms, a gymnasium and employee lounge provide informal areas that, like the more traditional office spaces, encourage employees to congregate, share thoughts and ideas. These areas are also beneficial in that they help the company meet its objectives, by creating a work environment that significantly increases its ability to attract and retain top talent.

Key Benefits


  • Easy to use content sharing solutions in every meeting room, allowing up to eight users to easily share content and collaborate in meeting rooms
  • The configurable and automated video wall in the command centre allows the team to monitor potential threats more efficiently and change settings for different scenario, ensuring each member can focus on the most important information at the time
  • Robust WiFi availability for staff and visitors
  • Security system design allowing one access card for both NYC and Jersey City buildings
  • Divisible meeting spaces allows the company to extend important meetings to a wider audience and stream content between offices, improving companywide communication
  • As well as formal office areas, the new office space includes well-being spaces, an employee’s lounge and gymnasium, each equipped with AV technologies, allowing FHLB to attract and retain top talent through state-of-the art office spaces
  • With multiple ways of communicating and sharing content through meeting rooms and huddle spaces, the users can efficiently collaborate with one another

The Result


This incredible building boasts a 60ft video wall which commands attention due to more than just it’s size and clarity. The screen delivers specific data to the team, based on smart algorithms, which drives the focus of staff to specific tasks based on how and where the screen delivers information. This way, staff are acting on data in real time and are alerted of the need to act immediately by this smart technology.

This use of AI provides an extraordinary glimpse into the future of office spaces, which are now not simply built around the needs of individuals, but are living spaces which are responsible for bringing an organisations focus to the right place at the right time.

For the Federal Home Bank, this was possible through an understanding of the importance of technology from the outset. PTS worked with the team to weave IT into the fabric of the building to bring to bear a space which truly enhances the experience for those who inhabit it.

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