Healthy ‘Workstyle’

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Decades before the concept of a mobile workforce became mainstream 21st century reality, Herbalife designed its business model around a sales team of self-employed, self-motivated entrepreneurs. Thirty years later, with annual sales of $2.3 billion and a network of 1.9 million independent distributors worldwide, the company welcomes its telecommuting road warriors to an awe-inspiring “office” that isn’t virtual at all.

Herbalife’s new 65,000-square-foot executive headquarters in downtown Los Angeles is a dynamic LEED^®-CI showplace specifically built to articulate the company’s culture and vision. “The offices were designed as a destination for our distributors around the world. Many come from small towns, and think of L.A. as one of the world’s most exciting cities, so the prospect of a trip to our main office is thrilling,” explains George Fischer, VP, worldwide corporate communications for Herbalife Ltd.

A big attraction for distributors is the headquarters’ location in the epicenter of L.A. Live, a 4 million-square-foot downtown revitalization project replete with the Staples Center and Nokia Theatre, Ritz-Carlton hotel and residences, hip restaurants, television and radio studios, and even the Grammy Museum. “Our distributors come to L.A. Live, which is awesome in itself, and then they walk into our offices and see what they are a part of: a global company in a beautifully-designed headquarters—it’s a terrific feeling,” says Fischer.

With fitness and sports culture embedded in its DNA, Herbalife is a world nutrition leader whose vast assortment of products offers healthy alternatives to weight loss, energy enhancement, muscle building, and more. “Their mission is to make the dream of a healthy, prosperous lifestyle come true,” says Clay Pendergrast, senior vice president of HOK, and interior design director for the firm’s Los Angeles office, which handled interior architecture, design and LEED stewardship for the project.

“Herbalife wants to change people’s lives in two aspects: they want to improve people’s health with their products; and they want to offer successful distributors very financially rewarding careers,” explains Pendergrast. Indeed, the company’s two-fold mission inspired HOK’s “dream catcher” design theme for the two-story space. Everything about the design is meant to encourage visitors to achieve their personal goals of health and financial independence.

The size and scope of the company is driven home as soon as visitors enter the lobby. The reception desk is faced with a backlit glass world map marking each distribution point in Herbalife’s global network. A sweeping curved steel and glass staircase leads to the upper executive level, visually representing “The Steps to Success,” Herbalife’s distributor rewards program. Directly above the staircase is an ethereal-looking rendition of the company’s logo, fabricated in lacquered white MDF and encircled with concealed lighting to create a halo effect.

Another jaw-dropper is the 5,000-foot, two-story conference tower smack in the center of the space. Literally constructed in an extruded leaf shape inspired by Herbalife’s three-leaf logo, it houses casual meeting rooms on the lower level and formal conference rooms as well as executive offices on the second story. The structure is enclosed on one side with clear glass for access to urban views and natural daylight. The opposite side is comprised of frosted white glass ramped up with color-changing LED lights for a bit of Hollywood drama.

“We are really trying to completely inculcate the visitor in the spirit, the mission and the accomplishments of Herbalife, so this unconventionally shaped tower adds to the overall impact and impressiveness,” notes Pendergrast. While corporate branding is deftly integrated throughout the offices, nowhere is it as symbolic than in HOK’s interpretation of a Native American dream catcher, which is carved into the gypsum board ceiling around the upper level of the conference tower.

“The ceiling design reinforces the concept that Herbalife is a dream catcher for its distributors and customers,” adds Pendergrast. And just like the Native American icon’s classic web within a circle design, with trinkets attached at strategic points, HOK’s “web” is an abstraction of the leaf motif repeated in a circular pattern. Here, the “trinkets” are Louis Poulsen light fixtures, highlighting points where the leaves meet the outer circle.

Fischer states that the headquarters is as much a marketing tool as it is a showplace. “The first floor of the reception area tells the Herbalife story, with displays describing our company history, distributor sales rankings and awards. As soon as our distributors walk in, they realize the design is all about them—there’s a lot of recognition built in. The displays also show what they earn as they move up the marketing plan, so it’s aspirational as well,” he explains.

HOK’s assignment was to create a veritable Herbalife museum, in effect curating the company’s products, sports endorsements, reward structure and charitable and social programs in a compelling way. The challenge, says Pendergrast, was to organize Herbalife’s hundreds of products and diverse story with flexibility built into the displays. The beautiful Italian fixtures specified and custom presentation designs meet the client’s need to change out and expand exhibits.

“If ever there were a question as to whether design can help increase business, this is a good example. A lot of people think of design as just overhead. Sure we want to convey a certain measure of success with our offices. But this was really about inspiring people and telling a story, because if we can inspire the distributors who are already members of the Herbalife team, and inspire visitors—such as recent college graduates—that Herbalife is a very viable business to get into, then our design does help increase the client’s business,” says Pendergrast.

One glimpse of HOK’s custom-designed furniture for chairman and CEO Michael O. Johnson’s office suite leaves no doubt about the viability of Herbalife’s business. The design epitomizes Johnson’s vision, with light maple veneer wall panels, and dark Brazilian cherry floors with Karastan carpet insets, setting off classic modern furniture. “In describing his ideal office, he said he wanted one surprising red object, so we did the large [red] ottoman/coffee table from Martin Brattrud in Edelman leather,” notes Pendergrast.

Herbalife at L.A. Live—HOK’s 50th project to be LEED certified—was designed to minimize the company’s carbon footprint by incorporating sustainable finishes, energy-efficient lighting, and access to natural light throughout. “We have a Live Green program, and LEED certification was part of the company’s commitment to the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” explains Fischer. “It’s a big honor for us to achieve LEED-CI in keeping with the corporation’s mission of promoting sustainability and a healthy lifestyle. And it makes our distributors proud to see that we’ve done our part—that we’re not just talking and we actually took the extra effort to achieve this.”

Carol Tisch is a freelance writer, editor and marketing consultant based in Sarasota, FL. She was formerly editor-in-chief of Shelter Interiors magazine and Home Furnishings News (HFN), and has developed communications programs for commercial and residential design industry clients. She can be reached at [email protected].

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