Building Together: Q & A with Linda Foggie of Wells Fargo
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A seasoned architect, mentor and design and construction lead, Linda Foggie, is the vice president of project management for Wells Fargo’s Northeast markets. Structure Tone is working with Foggie and her team to build Wells Fargo’s 500,000sf New York headquarters at 30 Hudson Yards. The bank will occupy nine floors of the building, two of which will be state-of-the-art trading floors. Here, Foggie shares her experience working on what she calls a “once-in-a-
Q: What has it been like working in the middle of such a hub of construction activity?
Working in Hudson Yards does not come without its challenges. There are a lot of factors to think about when building a new building out of the ground anywhere in Manhattan, but the truly challenging aspect of this project is working around the activities of the other towers and tenants. With several construction companies and contractors onsite at once, the jobsite gets extremely congested. For instance, things like getting manpower up to our floors hasn’t been easy, especially at the very beginning of the project. When you start a brand new building, the elevators don’t work right away, which is why there are the hoist cars on the side of the building. But when there are three companies building out their space and a thousand laborers that need to get up the building between 6:00 and 7:00am, sometimes you can lose time just trying to get your manpower moved up and down the building.
Q: How do you manage all the moving parts?
I’m really fortunate to be working with an esteemed team of professionals. Having talented and knowledgeable people around you really goes a long way in managing such a complex job. Understanding who your folks are, what their expertise is and finding ways to let them unleash their strength is really the key to managing across multiple disciplines.
Q: How does working on this project compared to others you’ve managed?
While I’ve worked on some really fascinating projects in my career, there’s nothing that compares to this project. We’re building a skyscraper out of the ground in the middle of Manhattan. Besides the complexities of working on our fit-out at the same time as the core-and-shell of the building is being built, this project holds such importance for the city and all the talented team members who get to help build it. This project is so unique, I may even dare to call it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Q: What is the status of the project right now?
Design was fully completed and construction documents were issued in early 2018. At this point, we’re well into construction both on the trading floors and the office floors. Studs are in, drywall is going up and painting will begin soon. Our project should wrap up in the middle of April.
Q: What are you most excited about for the new office?
I’m really excited about the amazing views. From the southwest corner of the building, you can see clear across to the Statue of Liberty and Jersey City. It will be an amazing backdrop to do our work every day. I’m also excited for the new ways of working that we’re creating. We’re implementing the 120-degree desk, a new type of workstation that will help the space feel brighter, more open and encourage collaboration. We’ve also incorporated spaces for people that might need to do focus work. We really tried to design the space around the types of activities people might naturally engage in across the course of their day.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
Every single day when I come to work, there’s a new challenge to be solved. No two days are ever alike, and that thrills me. It’s very exciting! What I love about my particular position is having the opportunity to help others learn, grow and gain new experiences. I enjoy when someone leaves my team with more knowledge and abilities than they had when they joined it.
Q: What has your experience with Structure Tone been like?
My experience with Structure Tone on this project has been wonderful. They’re a very talented and organized team, but what I enjoy most about working together is—like me—they allow the individuals to work in their strength zones. The team members do what they love and they’re really good at it. It’s been a really rock-solid team from the start.