Skogman Company’s new headquarters on a prominent corner in downtown Cedar Rapids is a contemporary home for the company’s multiple real estate divisions.

The $11 million three-floor office building replaced three existing structures. Located in Cedar Rapids since 1954, the company considered renovating its existing home, immediately next door to the new headquarters, but a renovation was not financially or structurally feasible. In the new building, the company’s more than 100 employees are able to collaborate in open offices on two floors, compared to the former building’s six floors.

Clients are now welcomed into an open two-story lobby. A vertical wood wall inserted behind the reception desk contrasts with clean white walls and the open steel stairway that connects the two floors. An additional reception area for guests and clients as well as a board room and small glass walled conference room are directly adjacent to the left of the lobby.

Organized as two rings around the two-story lobby, to the right an open office is connected to private offices and hotel space through a hallway flanked on one side with a series of three wood and red “houses” that serve as small conversational niches. Privacy necessitated private offices and multiple conference rooms of varying sizes. Glass walls, though, create transparency and openness while still maintaining a need for confidentiality.

On the second floor, additional open and private offices fill the west side. On the east, a cafe with additional seating on a seasonal patio that overlooks downtown creates a cozy sanctuary from the workday.

The company’s mission and history is infused throughout. Art by local artists dot the walls and fill shelves in a nook beyond the cafe at the top of the stairway. An overall palette of white, natural light wood, and steel is punctuated with Skogman’s signature red in furnishings. Four of the conference rooms feature artistic installations of icons that represent the company’s work — houses, door knobs, keys, and mailboxes. A history wall outside the first floor board room tells the story of the company’s history in Cedar Rapids.