Most wouldn’t expect a whimsical tree house in the backyard of an office building to be a conference room.
But that’s exactly what you’ll see at Aegis Living’s new home office in Bellevue.
Having celebrated 20 years in senior assisted living this past summer, Aegis Living recently moved its approximately 60-member corporate team from Seattle to a building like no other.
The 25,600-square-foot office is located at 415 118th Ave. SE in Bellevue and has a capacity for up to 82 employees. Its open space is adorned with art from around the world that CEO and founder Dwayne Clark and his wife have collected.
Clark said the design of the office building, and the art in it, show a level of attention to detail and sensibility – all the way down to the types of candy in the tree house. Hint: Swedish Fish is among four flavors.
As employees and visitors enter Aegis Living’s home office, they’re greeted with an airy lobby. To their immediate left is a hanging rope called the Red Rope Mala, which has 108 knots of the mala prayer beads to remind those who view it to focus. Facing the lobby desk, it’s not hard to miss a 3,304 pound basalt sculpture of a head called Lou in Blue. It represents the intellect of Aegis staff.
A variety of art, such as the cutouts of industry “disrupters” Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and more, surround a motorcycle, and is strategically placed throughout the building.
There are at least 17 art stations meant to inspire and reinforce Aegis Living’s core values of intellect, courage, disruption, authenticity, humor, purpose and service.
The building is more than a gallery, however.
An open kitchen with plant walls connects employees to nature while an executive chef serves breakfast and lunch. The exercise room has plenty of equipment but once special virtual reality body gyroscope planking workout machine called the Lcaros takes the cake. And a BodPod float tank and a massage room are available for stressed out employees.
For those who need a break outside, there’s a BBQ and croquet set. The 200-square-foot tree house also features swinging egg-shaped chairs with a sandy ground to rest your feet.
So, it’s not hard to see why Aegis Living was recently named one of the top 50 Best Places to Work and was deemed a top 15 best in the country for Work-Life Balance by Glassdoor.
“When we first formed Aegis Living 20 years ago, our mindset was one of disruption due to the existing industry norms,” Clark said in a news release. “We planned to hire differently, put people before profits, and develop a different kind of building and community for our residents. We were convinced there was a need and were very excited about inventing a new choice for seniors.”
Aegis Living is planning to open 10 new communities in the next few years. This fall, Aegis is planning to open Aegis Gardens in Newcastle and claims it’s already recognized as one of the most distinctive Chinese senior communities in the country. With the expansions, Aegis plans to create 800 new jobs in the next four years with 300 in the next year.
According to Aegis, they forecast double-digit annual revenue growth in the next five years with an estimated $300 million in 2021.
Clark founded Aegis Living in 1997 with seven employees in Redmond. One year later, the company began to grow and opened its first senior living facility in California. Today, there are 28 senior communities and 2,000 residents living in them. Approximately 2,200 employees in Washington, California and Nevada work at Aegis.
For more information, visit www.aegisliving.com.
