We are Red Thread
Rethinking
the Workplace
Furniture
Technology
Architectural Systems
We help transform workplaces to engage employees and support their best work by integrating furniture, technology, and architectural systems.
The way we work has changed forever. Today’s workplaces need to be flexible and tailored to drive innovation, build connections, and strengthen culture.
Hybrid work is here to stay, whether you’re balancing in-person and remote teams or engaging with external partners. We’ll partner with you to rethink your workplace strategy, ensuring you deliver equitable experiences with cutting-edge technology and create a destination that enhances your workplace culture.
Our integrated approach sets us apart.
Creating integrated environments is about more than combining components—it’s about creating cost-effective, adaptable, and sustainable workplaces.
With expertise in furniture, demountable walls, technology and floor covering, we excel in seamless integration.
Our team crafts tailored solutions, ensuring flawless execution and ongoing support. We design environments where your people and culture can thrive.
Featured Project: Workhuman
Workhuman’s new headquarters at 100 Staples Drive in Framingham, Massachusetts, epitomizes a trailblazing workspace tailored to foster innovation, wellbeing, and collaboration. Spanning 157,000 square feet, this space is designed to reflect the company’s ethos and heritage, promoting a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable work environment.
Our Latest Projects
The unique spaces we create for our customers speak for themselves.
With the return to office and intense competition for talent, CEOs are prioritizing company culture. Real estate is not only a vital financial asset but also the stage where we craft environments that enhance employee connections. We take pride in understanding each company’s unique culture and translating that essence into their workspace design.
CarGurus
CarGurus
Date
IA
Timeline
Furniture
Client
Boston, MA
CarGurus headquarters: a state-of-the-art, inclusive workspace reflecting flexibility, well-being, and brand identity.
CarGurus, a leading U.S. automotive marketplace for buying and selling vehicles, recently consolidated its headquarters into a central location in Boston’s Back Bay. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Boston’s Mayor Wu presented an award to CarGurus, commending their decision to establish a state-of-the-art office as an anchor tenant in the Back Bay neighborhood. This move brought together nearly 1,000 employees who had previously worked in separate offices in Cambridge, uniting them on the top ten floors of a new 20-story building. Originally designed with a traditional layout before the pandemic, the project evolved to embrace a flexible workspace model better suited to CarGurus’ hybrid work culture.
The new floor plan prioritizes adaptable, bookable workspaces to support diverse work scenarios, including collaboration, meetings, and focused individual work. With versatile meeting rooms, social hubs and mobile power, the space fosters choice and collaboration while remaining adaptable to future needs. Employee well-being and inclusivity were central to the headquarters design. The office includes mothers’ suites on multiple floors, wellness rooms, single-use restrooms, and workstations, enabling individuals to tailor their spaces to their needs. Ergonomics, acoustics, and the balance between quiet zones and active areas were carefully considered, with serene libraries for introspection and active spaces for social interaction. Within the open plan, the Steelcase Brody Lounge Chair and Shielded Flex workstations created cozy spaces with visual privacy for individual work. The Steelcase Karman task chair was chosen following a sit test that evaluated its comfort, aesthetic appeal, and sustainability features.
The design incorporates CarGurus’ brand identity through color-coordinated wayfinding and floor themes inspired by the regions in which the company operates. Amenities, such as a game room, libraries, a tech bar, a barista bar, training areas, and rooftop decks, encourage cross-functional interaction, creating a vibrant and engaging workspace that reflects CarGurus’ commitment to innovation and employee empowerment.
Photos © Robert Benson Photography
South Portland Middle School
South Portland Middle School
Date
wbrc, Harvery Construction
Timeline
Furniture
Client
South Portland, ME
Empowering education: a student-centered school for innovation and community.
The $69 million South Portland Middle School serves grades five through eight in a single new building, consolidating two former middle schools into one. The project’s furniture selection, procurement and installation efforts were led by Red Thread in collaboration with WBRC Inc. Together, they conducted custom workshops that included leadership discovery and floor plan reviews with faculty, staff, and administration. These workshops played a key role in identifying the specific functions of spaces—such as library, cafeteria, art rooms, STEM areas, and classroom spaces—and creating tailored solutions that aligned with both the design direction and budget. To support confident decision-making, the approval process included detailed furniture renderings depicting architectural finishes. Mockup classroom test-fit installations during the design process allowed live feedback from both students and staff.
The innovative school design features academic wings connected to shared spaces for art, STEM, library, dining, and gym activities. New furnishings and visual displays enable flexible classroom layouts, accommodating both traditional seating and collaborative small group work. Students can also choose from a variety of seating styles to meet their preferences. Additionally, a versatile multi-purpose room serves as an auxiliary space for gym classes, stage performances, and large community gatherings.
Photos © Jeff Roberts Photography
eGenesis
eGenesis
Date
Flad
Timeline
Furniture, Technology
Client
Cambridge, MA
eGenesis’ headquarters expansion: a flexible, collaborative hub for innovation.
eGenesis expanded its Cambridge, MA headquarters to a five-story mixed use building to support its groundbreaking research aimed at alleviating global transplant shortages. The new office is designed to enhance collaboration and foster flexibility, accommodating ample of workstations, private offices, and various conference areas, including a boardroom featuring a Zoom conferencing solution featuring an AI-enabled tracking camera and dual 65” monitors. Multiple huddle spaces support diverse collaboration needs, offering varied seating postures—low, standard, and high—to suit different meeting styles. Steelcase’s fully flexible workstations empower teams to adapt and reconfigure their spaces as they grow, complete with height-adjustable desks, dual monitors, and wireless charging stations.
Amenities include a spacious café and a smaller break area, designed as communal spaces for regular town halls and team gatherings. The town hall area can support hybrid meetings through a Zoom conferencing solution that allows all participants to be seen and heard clearly no matter where they are seated. The neighborhood-oriented layout further strengthens eGenesis’s collaborative culture, while adaptable workstation designs provide teams with the flexibility to rearrange as needs evolve, creating a central hub for research, innovation, and growth.
Photos © Edward Caruso Photography
Confidential Engineering Education & Design Center
Confidential Engineering Education & Design Center
Date
WBRC Inc., Ellenzweig, Consigli Construction
Timeline
Furniture
Client
Orono, ME
Fostering collaborative learning and adaptability.
The new Engineering Education and Design Center has emerged as a beacon of cutting-edge academic space design. Spanning across three stories and 107,000 square feet, the state-of-the-art facility serves as the center of graduate engineering education, equipped with advanced laboratories, collaborative zones, and technology-rich teaching spaces. Red Thread teamed up with WBRC Inc. for a thorough engagement process on furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FFE), uncovering important insights that influenced the layout.
Our approach to workshops is deeply rooted in inclusivity, as we harness the power of sophisticated tools to gain comprehensive insights into specific requirements and design preferences. We utilized Mural, a virtual collaboration platform, to facilitate interactive discussions and allow various stakeholders, such as graduate students, faculty members, and other staff members, to share their perspectives. Through a series of thoughtfully curated sessions, we encouraged anonymous feedback and fostered an environment of open communication and collaborative ideation. Our use of advanced technological resources continues to play a pivotal role in streamlining the transition from imagination to reality for our valued clients.
Beyond its immediate impact on the university landscape, engineering and design center stands as a testament to Maine’s demand for engineering talent. By bringing together diverse engineering disciplines under one roof and fostering a culture of collaboration, the facility plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining top-tier engineering talent within the region, amplifying the state’s potential as a leading hub for innovation and technological advancement.
Photos © WBRC Inc.
Community at Work
Community is the glue that holds people together
during change and adversity. When people feel a sense of community, they are far more likely to be engaged and productive, have higher levels of wellbeing and achieve better results. The workplace is a strategic asset organizations can use as the infrastructure for building community. In this issue of Work Better magazine, see how existing, underperforming office spaces can be transformed using Community-Based Design principles. And explore why privacy – the #1 need in the office right now – has many possibilities.