• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, July 31, 2013

The Richards Group -- the architects for such memorable campaigns as “EAT MOR CHIKIN” for Chick-fil-A and “This is Tom Bodett for Motel 6” for, well, Motel 6 -- has selected an architect to design its new headquarters in the West Village section of Dallas. The 250,000 square foot building, which is scheduled to open in early 2015, will feature an open floor plan with an “offset” elevator core in order to accommodate a three-story stairwell atrium as its centerpiece.

The reason, says agency founder Stan Richards, is to encourage the kind of “stairwell meetings” that have been part of the shop’s long-standing tradition. During those meetings, upward of 700 agency staffers gather for important announcements and introductions. Or could it be that Richards was simply channeling his inner Fairfax Cone -- the Foote, Cone & Belding founder who once quipped: “The inventory goes down the elevator every night.” At Richards’ new digs, at least, they will be going down the stairwell.