Recognized as 2024’s Q3 HOWNOW Champion for bing an advocate and proponent of Ankrom Moisan’s company culture for the San Francisco office, Senior Associate Ferdilyn Ramirez embraces our spirit of sharing openly, boosting teamwork, camaraderie, and inspiring others to live and follow our HOWs.
An original member of Ankrom Moisan’s San Francisco office, Ferdilyn was absorbed into the firm back in 2016 when we merged with Forum Design, a small architecture and planning firm, taking over their Bay Area office space. It was a big change, but one that was not unwelcome.
“Coming from a smaller firm to be part of a larger company with more resources has been really nice,” Ferdilyn reflected about becoming part of AM. “The different types of work and projects that we get to work on has been amazing compared to the smaller portfolio I had before. The people are also great.”
Ferdilyn on top of Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office.
Passionate about providing housing to those in need, Ferdilyn sees her involvement with the Affordable Housing studio as a Technical Designer as Ikigai, a Japanese concept that roughly means ‘one’s reason for being’ or ‘sense of purpose.’ “There’s a Venn Diagram of what the world needs, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for, and what you love,” she said. “The overlapping parts in the center are your purpose. I think housing architecture does that for me.”
Feeling positive about the difference she makes day-to-day through the Affordable Housing studio, Ferdilyn notes that working closely with her team has not only boosted her self-confidence but also increased her overall trust. “The open communication in all project teams I’ve worked on has been the most helpful for me in creating a feeling of trust in the work that I do,” she said. “I enjoy feeling like we can execute a project or plan, and people don’t have to micromanage one another to get it done.”
Ferdilyn at AM’s Portland office.
When AM leadership got together to come up with our HOWs and Whys, Ferdilyn was quick to adopt them into her daily routine. “I thought it was an interesting and fun new way to look at work,” she said. These initiatives quickly became second nature to Ferdilyn, as she views the tenants of company culture like part of herself. “It’s really all about being yourself,” Ferdilyn insists. “Then from there, it stems off to the other HOWs. I told myself last week that if you can just be yourself, then everything else will come naturally.”
“Being myself is the easiest one,” she shared. “Embracing change is harder.”
Offering advice to young professionals who may just be starting at a company with strong values like Ankrom Moisan, Ferdilyn imparted “Be yourself. Trust the path. Be vocal and learn what you want. Be positive and have fun with it. Be professional, but still, have fun. Don’t get so hung up on the day-to-day tasks; Look at the bigger picture and what you’re working towards.”
Ferdilyn’s Nomination Video
Ferdilyn was watching the Green Screen In Between video on her phone with a few people at lunch when she found out about her nomination. “I was very surprised,” she said. “I didn’t even know that the Q3 awards had been released.” Feeling honored about her selection, Ferdilyn links her win to the confidence and trust she has built with her team, and the relationships that she has developed at Ankrom Moisan. “The trust I’ve built with my team goes hand-in-hand with building my confidence,” she continued. “This award is a perfect reflection of that. It’s been nice to be recognized for that kind of growth.”
Hoping that the Rewards & Recognition program continues well into the future, she praised the series for how it connects the firm across offices. “You get to hear about all the great work that everyone is doing every day,” she said. “But then to highlight just a few people is so great. I think having a spotlight, singled-out recognition is very rewarding. It’s really great to see people talk about each other in a positive way.”
“Maintaining company culture across offices with physical distance is tough. I don’t think you can impose ‘culture’ on a team, but with the way our HOWs are structured, there is space to be ourselves and make it our own,” Ferdilyn said. “When there’s a larger event in Portland or Seattle, we try to find similarities in date, time, and type of event. Sometimes, that’s not possible, so we put our own spin on it. This lets us try to include everyone, make sure everyone is interested, and that we have full attendance. When one person misses an event, we feel the impact since we have such a small team in San Francisco. In the end, I think that’s part of what helps keep our culture alive!”
Michael Stueve’s Workplace Design Trend Predictions for 2025
Co-leading Ankrom Moisan’s workplace interiors team for over half a decade, Michael Stueve, Principal, knows the ins and outs of workplace design like the back of his hand. His experience with Futures Thinking has prepared him to identify many office trends before they spike in popularity and become a regular design consideration, like hybrid work capabilities and the importance of fortifying culture through the built environment of an office space.
Reflecting on recent project work, Michael has pulled together and shared his top workplace design trend predictions for 2025.
“Although COVID-19 ushered in a reimagined workplace experience over the last few years, one truth remains unchanged,” Michael shared. “That is that successful businesses excel at aligning physical office spaces with organizational values and emerging work practices.”
Michael Stueve, Principal
“Collaboration and amenity spaces have certainly been upgraded over the past few years, but what’s next?” Michael asks. As workplaces are ever evolving, he sees three significant drivers for 2025’s evolution: AI, fresh air, and inclusivity.
AI
“As AI is dramatically impacting the way we work and redefining job roles, businesses will require ever more enhanced collaboration areas that double as training and up skilling hubs,” Michael predicts. “These spaces will feature cutting-edge integrated technologies, flexible furniture, sophisticated audio systems, and designated presentation zones.”
Merrill Creek | Everett, WA
“This evolution signifies a blend of workplace and higher education design strategies, fostering continuous learning and adaptability,” he said.
Fresh Air
“From a wellness perspective, our client surveys reveal that the number one amenity employees are seeking is not pickle ball. It’s fresh air and daylight,” Michael said.
“For instance, we recently had a client in a Class-A CBD office tower relocate to a floor with a large private outdoor area connected to the break room,” said Michael, speaking of the recent Colliers PDX Headquarters project. “The result is that team members coming to the office daily have increased by 50%. Couple this with biophilic elements and natural materials, and you’re set for the coming year and beyond.”
Colliers | Portland, OR
Inclusivity
On top of rapidly changing technologies and connections to nature, there are other opportunities Michael has identified as workplace design trends this year. One of these is designing spaces that support a journey to belonging through inclusive interiors elements.
All-gender restrooms, quiet zones for neurodiverse employees, and improved accessibility for individuals of all capabilities all contribute to an inclusive office atmosphere, signifying that a company truly carers about its employees and is willing to address their needs in meaningful, impactful ways.
Amberglen, a recent office project outside of Portland’s downtown core merges the fresh air trend with an inclusive atmosphere. “The owners had the opportunity to amenitize the space to the level of a downtown Class A, capitalizing upon an indoor-outdoor opportunity for tenants,” Michael said. “With an eye towards wellness, inclusivity, and fresh thinking, Amberglen includes elements that bring the outdoors in, as well as spaces that encourage tenants to bring work outside. Having outdoor work areas means there is cross-pollination between the two approaches to wellness and inclusivity.”
Amberglen | Hillsboro, OR
Although these amenities and considerations have been done before and are nothing groundbreaking on their own, joining them together creates new experiences and perspectives for office tenants, re-framing the everyday impact of emerging technologies like AI and the importance of biophilia.
“When you combine the elevated collaboration that stems from technology with fresh air and inclusivity, they all total up to wellness,” Michael states. “When all three things are firing on all cylinders, it creates an environment of wellness, which is the greatest amenity of all.”