How Atmosphere Commercial Interiors and FORTÉ are coming together to define integrated spaces.
Step into many modern environments today and you’ll find thoughtful, well-designed spaces where technology and architecture are beginning to work more intentionally together. Yet even with this progress, there are still plenty of places where the integration isn’t quite there. Some spaces don’t fully support the technology inside them, and in others, the digital solutions aren’t aligned with how people actually work, collaborate, or connect.
For Atmosphere Commercial Interiors, closing that remaining gap has always been an opportunity worth pursuing.
“Furniture and technology are totally interdependent,” says Jeff Anderson, Executive Vice President at Atmosphere. “You can’t design one in isolation anymore. If you do, you risk undermining the entire experience.”
That belief is what ultimately led Atmosphere — alongside its interior architecture partner, Meso Built — to formally align with FORTÉ as its official technology partner. Not as a bolt-on service. Not as a transactional vendor relationship. But as a strategic partnership built around one simple idea: environments perform better when every layer is planned together.
A Partner Built on Performance
FORTÉ, formerly known as AVI Systems, is one of the world’s leading communication and collaboration technology integrators, operating more than 40 locations across the U.S. with a global reach. Over the last five decades, the employee-owned company has evolved from reselling early AV equipment to designing sophisticated, future-ready collaboration ecosystems that support how organizations truly operate today.
Their work extends well beyond hardware. FORTÉ’s teams consult, design, integrate, and support technology environments end-to-end including long-term managed services that ensure systems continue performing well after installation.
Just as importantly, their approach is not confined by industry lines. Corporate, education, and government organizations may make up much of their portfolio, but their core strength lies in understanding human behavior, workflows, and performance regardless of sector.
That mindset aligned naturally with Atmosphere’s own philosophy: strategy first, solution second.
Why Integration Matters Now
As environments become more dynamic, flexible, and experience-driven, the margin for disconnect between furniture, architecture, and technology continues to shrink.
A space may look stunning but if acoustics fail, sightlines are compromised, power is poorly planned, or technology adoption lags, the experience breaks down quickly. Likewise, even the most advanced technology can fall flat if it isn’t supported by thoughtful spatial planning, ergonomics, lighting, and adaptability.
“Technology is a significant investment for any organization,” explains Shannon O’Reilly, Senior Vice President at FORTÉ. “If it’s not planned holistically, you risk losing ROI before the system ever has a chance to perform.”
That’s where early, integrated collaboration becomes critical. When furniture strategy, technology planning, and interior architecture align from the beginning — alongside designers, contractors, and real estate partners — projects move more smoothly, change orders decrease, and long-term performance improves.
More importantly, people feel the difference.
A Partnership Built on Shared Values
The relationship between Atmosphere and FORTÉ has grown over the years. Both teams collaborated organically by introducing clients to each other’s expertise, sharing best practices, and solving increasingly complex challenges together.
Over time, it became clear that the combined value was greater than the sum of its parts.
“It allows each of us to offer a better overall solution to our respective clients,” says Anderson. “The synergy is undeniable.”
Rather than attempting to build deep technology expertise internally, Atmosphere made a deliberate choice: partner with specialists who live and breathe this work and who share the same commitment to quality, curiosity, and continuous improvement.
FORTÉ became that partner.
Together with Meso Built’s interior architecture and construction capabilities, the partnership creates a fully integrated ecosystem that blends furniture strategy, technology performance, and spatial design into a cohesive, human-centered experience.
Designing Environments People Value
At its core, the Atmosphere × FORTÉ partnership isn’t about products or platforms. It’s about creating environments that actually support the way people think, meet, learn, and collaborate now and into the future.
When integration happens early and intentionally, environments become more intuitive, more adaptable, and more resilient to change. Teams spend less time troubleshooting and more time focusing on meaningful work. Organizations gain better long-term value from their investments. And spaces begin to feel less like static facilities and more like living systems designed for people.
This partnership is the first step in telling that story.
In the coming weeks, we’ll take a closer look at how collaboration happens behind the scenes, how integrated environments perform in real-world settings, and how these ideas translate into tangible experiences.
For now, it starts with a simple belief: when furniture, technology, and space speak the same language, everything works better.
Contact us
to learn more about how we can help you create a cohesive environment that blends furniture and technology.
Photographers: Mike Rebholz Photography, Lisa Lardy Photography