I recently visited Yelp, GitHub, Ripple, Wired, Pandora, Airbnb, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. While each space had a very different look, some distinct themes emerged.

Airbnb’s culture is evident from the moment you walk into the five story building lobby where a kaleidoscope of windows from the building floors above gives glimpses into the conference rooms modeled after their listings from around the world. The main space is very bright and white so that the eye naturally travels to the very colorful conference and collaboration areas
and welcoming kitchens. Everything about the space says “hospitality”.

GitHub is a builder of web-based collaboration tools for software developers and as you walk through their space, you get the feeling you are walking through the many different environments around the world from which software developers might be accessing GitHub’s tools. As mentioned above, it feels like a conglomeration of co-working space, coffee houses, bars, libraries and living rooms.

Yelp was loud and fun. There were areas with loud music playing and the space could definitely be described as lively. (If you are a quiet introvert, it might not be the place for you.) Ripple’s space probably had the least distinct personality as it is an earlier stage tech company in the financial services industry. The feeling in their offices was definitely “hard-working start-up” – no fluff.

Wired has a partial dropped ceiling inspired by a circuit board that winds through and connects all of the space. It is also where all of the HVAC and electrical is hidden so that the remaining exposed ceiling is high and uncluttered.

While many of the innovations in office space seen on my trip to San Francisco will not be embraced elsewhere for some time, those spaces provide ideas for smaller scale innovation anywhere. Although the culture may be different in San Francisco and office space more expensive, businesses everywhere are trying to encourage collaboration, reduce their real estate footprints, become attractive to millennial workers and inspire their existing employees. How can we help you take the first step? I am happy to meet to go over my observations in more detail.

I recently visited Yelp, GitHub, Ripple, Wired, Pandora, Airbnb, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. While each space had a very different look, some distinct themes emerged.

Amenities are important in work spaces for many reasons. They create and reflect culture, allow employees to spend more time doing their jobs and less time running out of the office and act as a powerful recruiting tool. Tech companies are clearly staunch advocates of highly amenitized space. In fact, I was absolutely blown away by the level of amenities offered to employees.

If employees feel like imbibing, they don’t have to go far. Airbnb brews their own kombucha and keeps craft beers and local wines ON TAP in their café. Pinterest has a rolling bar cart that can be relocated around their space as the demand arises. GitHub has two bars in their space.

All of the companies use their cafeteria and bar spaces for large company events, but most also have large auditoriums for the regular town hall meetings that are part of their cultures.

Linkedin also has tech vending machines on every floor where employees can swipe their badges to obtain things like a new mouse, a keyboard, a cable, etc.

 

I recently visited Yelp, GitHub, Ripple, Wired, Pandora, Airbnb, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. While
each space had a very different look, some distinct themes emerged.

We all know that fresh air and light make us happier and healthier but many workspaces are designed to keep us in stale indoor spaces. That is not the case in the offices I toured. GitHub’s LEED gold certified workspace boasts a roof deck with WiFi that was filled with GitHubbers the day I visited. It is also the locale of many after-hours social events for employees and/or clients.

LinkedIn and Ripple’s spaces also feature roof decks where employees are encouraged to work or meet at any time. LinkedIn’s first floor building lobby is a public open space – something unique to San Francisco. The walls to the street slide into pockets to allow an open air lobby where the public is welcome during business hours.

Airbnb’s space (also LEED gold certified) features a living wall in its five story lobby.

Yelp chose their 1920s era building for its unique Art Deco design as well as its operable windows.

From last week:

Progressive companies realize space not only reflects culture, it can change it. If one wants to understand what the future of office space looks like, it seems like a trip to San Francisco, the epicenter of the technology culture, would be a good place to start. That is why I found myself on a four-day whirlwind tour of eight technology company spaces this spring.
I visited Yelp, GitHub, Ripple, Wired, Pandora, Airbnb, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.  While each space had a very different look, some distinct themes emerged.

Part II:

Although all of these tech companies are completely open plan, they acknowledge the need for quiet or confidential meeting and work areas as well as open air or undefined environments. GitHub, for example, began as a company with employees writing code in bars, coffee shops and home offices. In an effort to be true to and reflective of that culture, they designed their space to provide a variety of environments to accommodate different personal work styles. Their space features two full bar areas, a library, a “speakeasy” accessed through a hidden door in the library (which the employees told me is the most-used conference room at GitHub), coder caves and some simpler conference rooms.

Airbnb translated their most popular listings around the globe into actual meeting rooms and communal spaces. There are tents, Japanese tea rooms, Parisian kitchens, San Francisco living rooms… even an Airstream trailer. The space also features a movie theater-inspired boardroom with theater seating (rather than a boardroom table) in keeping with their non-hierarchical culture.

Ripple has medium and large conference rooms with glass walls for transparency, all named after famous economists. Similarly, they have “phone booths” with glass walls named after female economists.

LinkedIn has conference rooms of various sizes sprinkled throughout their floors, given quirky names after themes such as the Pillow Room seen here. Many feature teleconference technology.

Wired has open and closed conference spaces. For instance, the slime room has two walls but is open to the hallways on either side. The entrance to Wired’s space features a very large open area with huge reconfigurable sectionals as well as large glass walled offices with Nana-walls that can collapse when the magazine hosts large events. Their library is a sacred “quiet zone” where all know that noise is not welcome. The beanbag room, on the other hand, features a video game console and is rarely quiet.

Pinterest has large open spaces with comfy sectionals as well as conference rooms with curtains so that employees can choose the workspace most conducive to their tasks. They even have a Quiet Room with bunk beds in case you just can’t face your task without a nap! There is a crafting area as well as this is Pinterest.

Progressive companies realize space not only reflects culture, it can change it. If one wants to understand what the future of office space looks like, it seems like a trip to San Francisco, the epicenter of the technology culture, would be a good place to start. That is why I found myself on a four-day whirlwind tour of eight technology company spaces this spring. I visited Yelp, GitHub, Ripple, Wired, Pandora, Airbnb, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. While each space had a very different look, some distinct themes emerged.

OPEN PLAN

The first thing I noticed was an absolute lack of private offices. Only Wired (which had only six in its entire space) had any private offices. Other than Wired, Not. A. One. Not only that, there were no private cubicles. EVERYONE sits at bench seating. Some are configured in honeycombs; some in straight lines. Regardless of the configuration, the message is clear: collaboration is king and hierarchies are dead.

Further evidence of this message is Airbnb’s “executive triangle”. In this open area, Airbnb’s founders will often meet for high level discussions. As you can see from the photo below, even this space is not “private”.

When asked why open plan is the preference, each company made it clear that saving space (and rent overhead) was not the primary goal (although most occupy to a density of 6:1,000 sf). Rather, they wanted to encourage teamwork, and have flexibility to grow and reorganize as teams/projects change. GitHubbers have total freedom to self-assign their work spaces. Some never sit in a workstation instead choosing to float about while others take up residence.

All of the furniture in each of these offices is standardized and exactly the same size. Most of the companies had purchased adjustable height furniture reflective of the wellness focus also seen throughout these companies.

Another stand-out characteristic of all of these tech spaces? With the exception of LinkedIn, none of them have a large mechanical building core. Because most are repurposed warehouse spaces, large center areas for storing goods were a key element of the buildings’ original designs and the core was placed on the perimeter. For tech companies, the big central open spaces allow for people to be at the center. Everything is open and everyone feels connected. Come back to the blog next week for Part II: Conference & Quiet Rooms.