In the modern workplace, the lobby is no longer just an entrance; it is a hospitable ‘third place’—a space between home and the traditional desk where employees actually want to meet, engage, and linger. This Fortune 500 company’ lobby project transformed a cold corporate transit zone into a hospitable brand anchor. For this transition, the project enlisted the help of The Plant Peddler, a leader in interior horticulture. Our mission is to "help our clients create great spaces" through the principles of biophilic design. This practice increases connectivity to nature, which can reduce stress and increase productivity. Rather than a saturated "green-out", the goal was to provide refined, polished finishing touches that felt like a permanent part of the company’s brand identity.
The collaboration was brought to life by a long-standing Atlanta-based commercial architecture and interior design firm and collaborator. The firm is renowned for its expertise in corporate workplace design and chose to involve The Plant Peddler at the blueprint stage. This early partnership allowed for the calibration of millwork dimensions specifically to accommodate the root balls of large specimens, ensuring the plants would not merely fit, but flourish
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The collaboration was brought to life by a long-standing Atlanta-based commercial architecture and interior design firm and collaborator. The firm is renowned for its expertise in corporate workplace design and chose to involve The Plant Peddler at the blueprint stage. This early partnership allowed for the calibration of millwork dimensions specifically to accommodate the root balls of large specimens, ensuring the plants would not merely fit, but flourish
The scope involved the company’s high-traffic lobby, a space defined by extremely tall ceilings and custom architectural millwork. The vision required a simple, refined design that utilized greenery to ground the massive vertical scale of the lobby while enlivening recessed areas like the banket seating and a complex planter at the top of the stairs
Challenges Faced
- The Low-Light "Restricted Diet": The deep millwork areas were dark, requiring species that could survive on a restricted "calorie diet" of light.
- High-Value Hazards: One installation area was located directly beneath a valuable statue logo, requiring surgical precision to avoid any physical contact with the artwork during installation.
- Logistical Navigation: The team had to navigate a high-security environment, requiring "creative navigation" to transport 8-foot trees and hundreds of pounds of soil to their final locations
Solutions Implemented
- Species Calibration: Aglaonema was selected because its dark green leaves are packed with chlorophyll, allowing it to catch every available photon in the lobby's low-light corners.
- Precision Hydration: Because the custom containers lacked drainage, technicians utilized turkey basters to manually suction out excess water exactly 30 minutes after hydration.
The project confirms that early design involvement is the only way to ensure millwork is functional for living systems.
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