N1C’s New Downtown Janesville Office Opens

N1 Critical’s Chief Operations Officer Matt Hess oversaw the work, which was done by South-central Wisconsin-based contractors.

“Matt did a fantastic job leading this monumental effort,” Ellsworth said. “The building had been vacant for a number of years before we purchased it and started renovations. It was very drab, ‘institutional’ looking and rundown. To see it now just blows me away. I love coming to work here every day.”

Ellsworth, Farrell and Hess designed the layout of the building with employee comfort in mind, offering a variety of workspaces and environments while looking like no other office.

There are a number of various seating areas and styles available, from couches and reclining chairs, to booths, barstools and benches.

The main level features a product demo area and offices for the C-team, sales department, service manager, marketing manager and projects team. A conference room with seating for 12 is also available, as is a padded quiet room when employees need to tune out all distractions to get a project done. Many of the offices and common areas also have large, high-definition TV monitors to better facilitate meetings and increase efficiency.

The lower level features additional office space for future expansion, a collaboration table with built-in big screen TV and a full-featured kitchen with attached employee lunch/break room. There will also be a game room and workout room with shower facility added in the near future.

Beyond the functional space, the N1 Critical corporate office has something eye catching at every turn.

Nearly every interior wall of the office is covered with three-dimensional wall-coverings made out of recycled bamboo fiber. There are both random and patterned 3-D squares, while other walls have protruding bubbles, which represent the lithium ions that power the company’s industry-leading UPS battery packs. The colorful carpeted floors and walls also make a bold statement in modern office design and lay waste to boring monotone colors found in so many other corporate workspaces.

The exterior also received an expansive facelift with new black and blue paint and curbside masonry work. An electric car charging station will be added to the parking lot (several of the staff drive electric vehicles, including Ellsworth and Farrell). A backlit LED sign will be the finishing touch to the building project when it goes up in mid June.

“We joked before we moved in that Nate’s design ideas were something akin to Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, but it really has turned out fantastic,” Farrell said. “The employees love it and visitors are astounded by the original look of the space. It really is something to see and experience.”

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

N1 Critical Technologies Inc., is hosting an open house and Forward Janesville Business After Five event starting at 4 p.m., Thursday, July 19, 2018.

Stop by and see the new office space for yourself and network with the staff, clients, partners and friends with a catered “Casino Night” experience.

Proceeds from the event will support the purchase of Double Robotics Double 2 Telepresence Robots for the Janesville and Edgerton School Districts. The company will match all donations up to $3,500 for the 4-foot-tall, tele-controlled devices.

Ellsworth previously donated one of the robots to the Janesville School District (see related Janesville Gazette story). They’re used to allow homebound students to “virtually” attend school from home and remain in touch with teachers and classmates via two-way videoconferencing through an attached camera and iPad tablet. Motorized wheels allow it to travel hallways from class to class, allowing homebound students to experience the sights, sounds and discussions going on in their classrooms via their school-issued laptops or tablets.