When disruption strikes, resilience means more than recovery…it means continuity.
Our Knoxville Showroom & WorkLife Center faced an unexpected challenge when water damage caused our team to be displaced. What could have been a major setback instead became a real-world demonstration of adaptability, planning, and teamwork. In less than two weeks, we went from disruption to a fully functioning temporary showroom, without missing a beat for our customers.
Before the Disruption: Designing for Flexibility
From the way a space is utilized to the products that support the needs of people within, every choice reflects a commitment to flexibility. It starts with design that not only adjusts as business needs evolve, but also anticipates the unexpected.
Two of the most impactful examples were our raised flooring system and carpet tiles.
- Raised flooring – serving as an adaptable platform for managing power and data, allows easy workspace reconfiguration without major construction. It also helps improve cable management and aesthetics by hiding infrastructure, creating a cleaner and more flexible office environment. With over two inches of clearance, it provided a safeguard for our furnishings from water damage. As a result, only a small section of our design library, positioned directly against the primary impacted wall, sustained damage, while majority of the furniture remained protected.
- Carpet Tiles – Our selected tiles were engineered for resilience. With antimicrobial properties, the tiles resist mold even when wet for extended periods. The traction back technology allows them to be easily lifted, dried and reinstalled, whether over raised floors or directly on existing VCT and LVT surfaces. This durability and flexibility reduced downtime during remediation. We were able to salvage some of the tiles for our temporary space.
Just as critical was the response of our experienced Field team, who mobilized immediately. Within days, they disassembled and prepared our furniture for relocation. Their expertise meant we could move fast, preserve the integrity of our furnishings, and set the stage for a smooth transition to a temporary space.
Takeaway: Design choices made today can protect your space tomorrow. Creating flexibility ensures resiliency when the unexpected happens.
During the Transition: The Power of Flexibility
Disruptions rarely arrive with warning. The water damage created two urgent needs:
- Fast remediation to address immediate impact.
- A functional workspace to maintain business operations while renovations began
Because our furniture is modular and system-based, our team wasn’t locked into fixed layouts or immovable pieces. Instead, we had a flexible ecosystem of elements from workstations and collaborative tables to office and meeting pods, and demountable walls. This meant we could:
- Reconfigure individual work areas quickly to match the footprint of the temporary space.
- Relocate meeting pods to instantly provide private spaces for calls or customer meetings without construction.
- Move and recreate collaborative and social areas for the team and guests.
Our commercial real estate partners, SVN Wood Properties, helped us identify a temporary space just around the corner from our showroom. That proximity allowed our team to stay connected and our clients to find us with ease. In less than a week, our temporary showroom was up and running. What could have been weeks of downtime turned into a seamless transition, and our team was able to move into the temporary space the following week.
The People Behind the Transition
While our modular furniture made it possible to move quickly, it was our Field team, guided by our Operations and Design leadership and Showroom Manager, that turned possibility into reality. Collaboration between design vision with operational execution kept our relocation fast, focused, and seamless. With decades of operational experience in installation and certified training on system-based furniture, our team knew exactly how to plan, disassemble, transport, and reinstall efficiently and safely. Their expertise meant:
- Minimal disruption: Furniture and systems were handled professionally, preserving quality and ensuring they arrived ready to use.
- Speed and accuracy: Our certified team quickly reassembled everything — from workstations to meeting pods — exactly to spec, reducing downtime.
- Client-level service applied internally: The same care we provide customers was applied to our own move, demonstrating how operational excellence protects business continuity.
This approach is built into how we work. Our project management expertise is rooted in certified training and a core process we follow every time. Whether supporting a small project or managing a large-scale installation, the same proven methodology ensures safety, quality, efficiency and clear communications from start to finish.
Takeaway: The power of flexibility lies not only in modular furniture that allows organizations to pivot quickly, but also in the confidence that comes from working with an experienced, trusted team. Together, they reduce downtime, protect business continuity and keep people focused on what matters most.
Looking Ahead: A Stronger, Smarter Space
As our permanent showroom & worklife center undergoes renovation, we’re not just restoring, we’re reimagining what’s possible for our growing team. The experience has reinforced our belief that success begins inside: inside resilient workplaces, inside collaborative teams and inside organizations that put people first. We believe the most successful workspaces are designed with adaptability and resilience at their core — protecting investments, empowering people, and creating environments where businesses thrive, even in the face of disruption.
And ultimately, the speed of our transition wasn’t just about smart design or a convenient location — it was about our team living out our values. We stayed customer-focused to ensure clients never felt disruption, showed up with tenacity to move fast, and maintained open and honest communications with partners so decisions could be made quickly.
We’ve experienced firsthand how our own workspace design makes the difference — and our team is here to help you do the same. Our upcoming showroom renovation is just the beginning. Stay tuned for the reveal!
Check out our new temporary WorkLife Center & Showroom just around the corner at 119 W Fifth Ave, Suite 150, Knoxville.
