Laserfiche, the Long Beach-based software company that specializes in business management products, has unveiled its new global headquarters.
Officials celebrated the grand opening of the 102,840-square-foot, four-story facility at 3443 Long Beach Blvd. this morning.
The project, according to the developers, was built with a “biophilic” vision, which is a design philosophy that looks “to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment.” The concept won the Los Angeles Business Journal 2022 Commercial Real Estate Award.
“Our objective with this building,” Laserfiche CEO Chris Wacker said during the ceremony, was “to create the best possible experience for anyone who comes to talk, to meet to discuss ideas to close deals or just to be with peers and business partners.”
The building achieves that vision with natural light throughout the entire building by way of floor-to-ceiling windows that offer 270-degree views, a roof cooling system that reduces the heat-island effect and the reintroduction of greenery to the site, which is a remediated oil field.
To mitigate solar heating, the project was built with features like vertical and horizontal fins around windows to help shade the interior, which has created an environment less reliant on electric heating and cooling systems.
The workspace, which can accommodate 550 employees at one time, is vast and open. And though it was planned before the COVID-19 pandemic, it includes features that will enable a hybrid workforce. Meeting rooms were specifically designed to accommodate video conferencing with employees at home, for example, by setting up V-shaped tables with a camera at the end for full visibility.
“Our workspaces are modular and flexible, readily adapted to ideally fit the occupant’s and the occasion’s needs,” Wacker said.
Work on the new building began in 2019, when company officials imagined their in-office payroll would soon outgrow the leased property at 3545 Long Beach Blvd. that served as Laserfiche headquarters. While the plan at the time was to keep both buildings occupied, the emergence of a hybrid workforce during the pandemic rendered the original building unnecessary.
As such, the debut of the award-winning project marks a new chapter for Laserfiche, which was founded in April 1976 by Wacker’s wife, Nien-Ling Wacker, after her realization that businesses needed an easy way to access documents digitally.
“She really had a vision to transform the way the world works,” Wacker said.
Nien-Ling Wacker died from breast cancer in October 2014, and Chris Wacker then took the reins as CEO.
“Her vision is manifested in this building,” he said, “and it’s alive in our employees and customers around the world who do incredible things with our technology.”
Representatives for one of those customers—the city of Long Beach—were, for their part, pleased with the new addition to Bixby Knolls.
“Long Beach is so proud,” Mayor Robert Garcia said, “of our entire Laserfiche team.”