Henricksen

Henricksen, a longtime fixture of Chicago’s furniture and design community, set out to create a new headquarters that would reflect who they are today while shaping how their teams work tomorrow.
Located on the 21^st floor of W.22nd Street in Oak Brook, the new workplace is thoughtful, inspiring, and welcoming—balancing the energy of collaboration with spaces for focus, connection, and well-being.

LJC guided the project from the earliest conversations about Henricksen’s culture and aspirations through a fully detailed design. The process began by listening: staff questionnaires, stakeholder conversations, and a leadership visioning session helped uncover what the workplace needed to achieve. The resulting design priorities centered on flexibility, strong technology and acoustics, a true town hall for staff, a compelling presence for clients, and an environment that could offer something beyond the experience of working from home.

The design draws inspiration from Japandi and Brutalist influences, pairing raw, honest materials with warmth, natural light, and moments of unexpected character. Founded on the design pillars of Thoughtful, Innovative, Inspiring, and Fun, the workplace places client-facing spaces at the building’s most prominent corner while organizing open neighborhoods that encourage collaboration and connection.

A restrained, minimal, and textural material palette carries throughout the space, which allows the furniture to be the star of the environment, creating a sales tool for Henricksen’s clients. These elements are set beneath the building’s preserved coffered concrete ceiling, where a layered lighting approach brings warmth and definition to the architecture. Together, the preserved character of the building and the carefully crafted interventions create a workplace that feels distinctly Henricksen—rooted in its design heritage while looking confidently toward the future.