Grote Offices

Approach

The renovation of Grote Company’s office building on Donato’s Campus in Gahanna transforms a dated workspace into a bold reflection of the company’s innovative spirit. Designed to embody Grote’s operational goals of being a global leader in food processing equipment, the space makes the invisible—innovation, precision, and craftsmanship—tangibly visible by embedding cues from their products and processing into the built environment.

The updated exterior features a fresh color palette that visually unifies the building with the rest of the campus, creating continuity and cohesion. Inside, the theme of “Layers of Innovation,” drawn from the original design vision for the project, comes to life through materiality and spatial storytelling. Key industrial elements, inspired by the curves of processing blades and the vibrant orange of Grote’s conveyor belts, are thoughtfully integrated throughout the design. A continuous “wood brow” anchors the interior, running along the hallway spine and visually linking the office zone to the new vibrant café space and enhancing flow throughout.