This article is part of a special Maryland Inno edition of Cool Digs, a Baltimore Business Journal column that highlights new and recently renovated offices and workplaces across Greater Baltimore. To see the rest of the featured offices in this series, click here.
Tricerat
In making the jump to a brand new office, tech company Tricerat wanted to find a space that inspired the team, offered a more functional floor plan and better reflected the culture and extracurricular interests of employees.
The company, which specializes in printing and scanning software, found that fit in Baltimore City at 1600 W. 41st St. Tricerat moved into the 8,326-square-foot space in January 2021 from its former offices in Owings Mills and Columbia. A spokesperson for the company said the decision to move to the city was "very easy for us to make."
"Many of our staff live in Baltimore City and most of our volunteering initiatives take place in the city — such as BARCS and Baltimore Tree Trust. Additionally, it was important to the staff at large to contribute to job opportunities and the economic growth of Baltimore City."
Tricerat was the first to occupy the space, which gave the company the ability to build it out from scratch. Mark Deering and Drew White at MacKenzie Real Estate helped the company find its future home.
- Top local executive: John Byrne, CEO
- Employees: 30
- Office designer: J C Porter Construction LLC, Seawall and American Office
- General contractor: J C Porter Construction
- Management company: Seawall
Cool Digs: Tricerat
What were the guiding principles behind the design? We were so lucky to have started with a blank canvas. Staff, functionality and practicality were the first priorities when thinking through all of our decisions. Next on the list were sound and light — we asked questions such as, “how much natural light can we get in and because the office has such high ceilings, how will we mitigate echoing?”
When designing the space, we worked in lock step with American Office, Seawall, and J C Porter to make sure we had enough areas for collaboration, private meetings and heads-down work. Our last office lacked versatility in this way, so this was a top priority for the new design. Apart from that, we also wanted to make sure we had areas for fun and relaxing.
What makes the office "cool"? Some "cool" features include:
- Cold brew on tap from Black Acres Roastery.
- A mezzanine overlooking the entire office, equipped with break areas to relax that include the arcade game Galaga and a multi-game arcade table with 60-plus games.
- Cornhole boards.
- A large kitchen/break room filled with natural light, which has served us well for entertaining, all-hands meetings and company parties.
- Free parking.
- Located next to Union Collective where the team goes for happy hours, networking and more.
What are the workspaces themselves like? Every employee has a dedicated and private workstation. We have various setups depending on the role and work style of each employee. We conducted a company survey before designing our space and various teams indicated different preferences for optimal focus. For example, it was important for the engineering team to have higher cubicle walls, less natural light, and a quieter environment. On the contrary, sales and marketing preferred a more open-concept layout that increased opportunities for more engagement throughout the day.
We have private offices on the perimeter of the space, an open floor plan in the center and a private area of cubicles in the back. Upstairs we have an area for relaxing, a private room to rent for focus time and a smaller conference room.
Does the space have any artwork? We have a ton of artwork! Our CEO collects classic Apple and technology history artwork that we have hung around the office. We have various prints from the Apple "Think different" campaign, including Alfred Hitchcock and the history of computing.
Think your office is a fit for Cool Digs? Email cmilligan@bizjournals.com to apply.
