The modern office has changed. With companies like Google and Facebook throwing around perks like free sushi, bowling alleys, dog runs, a keg in every kitchen, full spa service, among other luxuries, businesses feel the need to keep up however they can. 

Grant Thornton's Glastonbury office is currently shopping around space in Hartford and Frank Kurre, the firm's Metro New York and New England managing partner, understands the need for a more contemporary work environment: 

Kurre says that space must accommodate its 21st century vision of what working for a major accounting firm should be like. That means, he said, "space that is open and bright."

"It's very conducive to teamwork,'' said Kurre, a former Arthur Andersen partner. "I see it as more akin to Yahoo/Google. It's not the stodgy, old accounting-firm look of the 1970s.''

With that in mind, there are certain necessities:

The Hartford office will have videoconferencing capabilities and multi-purpose conference rooms for meetings and other events. It also must have room for such "teambuilding activities'' as foosball and ping pong tables, and space where staff can chill and nosh free popcorn. Grant Thornton's relocated Melville, Long Island, N.Y., office is a template for the kind of facilities it wants in Hartford, Kurre said.

 

"We work very hard," Kurre said of his staff. "I want them to feel comfortable, almost like they're working in their living room.''

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• Tags: Grant Thornton, office luxuries