On Auburn Avenue in downtown Atlanta, one of the most culturally rich (and walkable) neighborhoods in the city, Cognitive Design designed a workspace for the 21st century gig economy inside a 1910 Southern School Book Building, originally designed by Hal Hentz & Neel Reid.

Serving as both advisory board member and architect for this project, Cognitive Design founder Matt Finn helped shape form and function from concept to completion.  Matt’s involvement in focus groups, brainstorming, workplace research, design, and construction ensured continuity of thought from community engagement to the fine details like gold leaf signage fronting Auburn Avenue.

Opened in May 2019, Constellations has been a staple in the community ever since. Three years after opening, Gene Kansas | Commercial Real Estate tells the Good Story of Constellations with a video highlighting the thriving community that we’re proud to be part of.

“Working with Cognitive Design leverages both thought leadership and thoughtful design.  Words like responsive, trustworthy, committed, creative, passionate and purpose-driven describe the people and the process.  We literally could not be any happier.”

Gene Kansas

Founder & President, Constellations

"Serendipity within the startup ecosystem is one of the key factors to a entrepreneur's success. Having chance encounters at meetups & events or through co-working spaces builds trust and organically grows relationships that can lead to beneficial connections in the community.”

Charlton Cunningham

Executive Director, Startup Atlanta

Cognitive Design helped set the stage for these interactions by designing a variety of communal spaces including a break room, coffee bar, library and lobby lounge, where members can work, mingle, or take a restorative break.  These spaces are further activated by contextually-driven programming, check out Constellation’s Happenings Calendar.  But Constellations also offers a unique way to connect with people well beyond the halls of this historic structure - through its podcast recording studio.  In this intimately designed space, members can document what they’re doing and share it with the world. 

While this all has great advantages for small businesses, some larger organizations have taken notice, crafting partnerships to create meaningful connections.  Georgia Tech and Georgia State jumped at the opportunity to have space for some of their people here, which allows these large organizations to mix, mingle and collaborate with other like-minded professionals with whom they share a physical presence in the birthplace of Civil Rights.

A place to work

Social connections help create opportunities, but having a place to deliver on those promises is equally critical.  A recent study found that the spaces that are right for the social aspects of work, like networking, collaboration and meetings, often provide too many distractions for doing focus work.  One study concluded that interruptions and distractions in open office environments consume 28% of a person’s workday. 

To address the need for focus work, Cognitive Design created private offices, where members can put their head down and flow. These spaces are purpose-built to eliminate the visual and acoustic distractions found in open office environments, all with the advantages of working in natural daylight compliments of large windows that help keep your biological clock in check with nature’s rhythms.  One private office, The Corner Office, even has a phone room inside a vintage elevator shaft, it’s great place to rise to the occasion of important calls!