OurFamilyWizard Office
A light-filled renovation for the creators of a coparenting platform embodies the flight-to-quality trend in workplace interiors
By Laurie Junker | March 20, 2025
Sparkling glass pendants by Hennepin Made hang at varying heights in OurFamilyWizard’s airy atrium. Photo by Gaffer Photography.
SPOTLIGHT
This feature appears in the 180-page 2024 ENTER print annual, available for purchase here.
Coparenting after a divorce or separation can be tricky, even in the most amicable splits—especially when it comes to communication. Visitation schedules, school and sports calendars, holidays, and finances are all areas that can get mixed up and lead to tension during an already difficult time. That’s what Minneapolis company OurFamilyWizard (OFW) set out to address with their eponymous coparenting platform, introduced in 2001. By 2020, the company had outgrown their Northeast Minneapolis location and decided to take over the top two floors of the historic Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company building in the North Loop.
The space had been vacant for almost a decade. OFW asked designer Betsy Vohs, Assoc. AIA, and her Studio BV team to transform the 25,000-square-foot space into a welcoming, high-energy office where hybrid workers could connect and collaborate on their in-person days.
Studio BV took advantage of the building’s unique characteristics, particularly the long, 35-foot-high brick atrium where ovens once pumped out Cheez-Its™ and animal crackers. The design team made it an integral feature of the office, filling one segment of the volume with 60 sparkling glass pendants of varying lengths from Hennepin Made to connect the two floors without blocking sightlines.
Photos 1–11: The reception area has an eye-catching decorative screen and a wide view of the atrium and a historic bread oven. The office includes lounge areas, booth and cafe-style seating for one-on-ones or heads-down work, a bar for coffee or cocktails, a “town hall” that brings in-person and remote employees together for larger meetings, and enclosed meeting spaces for privacy. Photos by Gaffer Photography.
Another segment of the atrium houses a wide staircase that doubles as an amphitheater for large company meetings, with a media screen suitable for Zooming in off-site employees. OFW calls the space “town hall.” On the periphery of the two floors are glass-fronted conference rooms, cozy booths, and, in true tech company form, a coffee bar and a cocktail bar.
Betsy Vohs, Assoc. AIA, Studio BV CEO
“OFW is using technology to help families get to a better place and heal. Our objective was to make this space a metaphor for that by using light and color to create an optimistic, welcoming environment—a place for gatherings, celebrations, and connections. There are a number of spaces where employees can work and be visible—for example, the couches around the atrium and the coffee bar. These are high-energy spots that are important in hybrid office environments.”
Nick VanWagner, OurFamilyWizard CEO
“Our goal was to provide our employees with an office that meets them where they are with designated workspaces, comfortable furnishings, and collaboration areas. At the same time, it was important to have a large gathering area where we could come together and share successes. We wanted to support our core value of thriving together, so we set up the space to enable strong collaboration—whether someone is in the office or working remotely.”
Brianna Tramp, OurFamilyWizard VP of Human Resources
“Our mission and focus is helping families. So, we wanted to provide our employees a place to come in when it made sense for them and their families. This office feels like home but with added options for where and how to work, top technology, great coffee, different-sized meeting rooms for heads-down or collaborative work and private calls, a cafe for gathering, and a bar area for socializing.”
The OurFamilyWizard project team included Studio BV, Mission Construction, and Artifex Millwork.
Related Articles
