Stryker Instruments Research + Development Center

This new research and development center allows for the enhancement and growth of Stryker Instruments’ most important resource—its people—while celebrating the medical technology company’s impact in the health sciences.

The facility houses technical, sales and marketing staff who previously worked in separate buildings. Stryker wanted to bring these roles under the same roof to create a sense of community and encourage synergies that would improve their ability to develop innovative products that solve their customers’ health needs. The contemporary, amenity-rich facility also helps Stryker attract and retain the best people to live and work in Southwest Michigan’s growing life sciences corridor.

Three connecting bridges span a daylight-filled central atrium, linking the technical and office wings. The atrium includes a 175-person lecture hall and an open stairwell with pockets of tables and chairs for breakout sessions. Glass-walled conference rooms hover above the atrium. Additional employee spaces and amenities, including a fitness center and café, encourage interaction and collaboration.

The design showcases the past, present and future of Stryker Instruments. Reflective materials incorporated throughout the building mirror their stainless-steel products. Curved edges throughout the building echo the shape of Stryker’s first product: the revolutionary Circ-O-Lectric bed.

The building includes an experience center with a timeline wall and product displays that immerse visitors in the company’s history, culture and vision. A hospitality space in the experience center leads into a functioning operating room, customizable to each customer, where doctors and nurses can experiment with products.

The project is pursuing LEED Silver certification. Sustainable design strategies include orienting the building to maximize daylight and views of the natural landscape (restored by the design to a native Michigan prairie) while controlling solar heat gain. Operable windows provide natural ventilation.

HOK’s integrated team of planners, architects, landscape architects and interior designers collaborated with local architect-of-record Tower Pinkster.