HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 08-19 3M building new design center at Maplewood Headquarters STAR TRIBUNE 3M building new design center at
Maplewood headquarters
Expanded hub on Maplewood campus will be four times its current
size.
By Dee DePass(http://www.startribune.com/dee-depass/10644746/)Star Tribune
� AUGUST 19,2015—9:35PM
Three years after 3M Co.'s splashy entrance into the world of haute couture lighting and
wall design,the maker of Post-it notes is embarldng on a major expansion—a new,
three-story design center at its Maplewood headquarters.
The center is expected to be a central hub for design pros,customers and 3M's own
product developers as they strive to inject fashionable design into more products.The
company did not disclose how much it would cost.
3M boasts 150 designers and several design centers around the globe,including Shanghai,
Tokyo,Milan and Maplewood.
Officials began expanding the Maplewood design center this week.When completed in
the spring,it will be four times larger than the old space,which featured 3M's lines of
exotic lighting and entire panels decked in artistic coverings for walls,appliances and
furniture.
In 2012,3M also opened a temporary lighting and architectural design showroom inside
the venerable International Market Square building in Minneapolis.In addition,the
company showcased many of its designs and wall coverings at its headquarters and
invited customers into both sites to explore ideas.
The new center expects to do that and more.Hundreds of customers,designers,
employees and product developers are expected to use the new center.The new flexible
space is thought to be a potentially rich growth tool for the company,said Glenn Carter,
communications manager for 3M Design.
"This important initiative will elevate design and propel dynamic opportunity to
enhance everything from branding solutions to product innovation to sustainability and
social impact,"said 3M Chief Design Officer Eric Quint.
"Design thinking is about unlocldng future value in partnership with research and
development and marketing,"he said."Our collective goal will be to deliver
transformative value for 3M,its partners and customers."
The design element is often far from consumers minds'when they think about 3M,a$32
billion global conglomerate that makes thousands of products from Scotch tape and
Post-it notes to respirators and cellphone screen brighteners.
Going forward,Quint said design will be front and center in all of 3M's operations.The
new center's interior architecture will incorporate 3M products and technologies
throughout,and showcase energy efficient systems and recycled materials.It will feature
a"fast prototyping"lab,a materials library,brand labs and an interactive area lmown as
the"Desigi Hive."
ddepass@startribune.com 612-673-7725 DePassStrib