Hygge at Scale.
Blitz worked with Google to implement a space redesign within the open plan office that meets Google's goals of a workplace that enables teams to collaborate, focus, and innovate.
The design solutions break down visual barriers within the workplace and create open, informal meeting areas with important intersections on each floor. The removal of partition walls and semi-closed niches allows daylight to penetrate the interior of the floor plan and creates a clear visual connection between neighboring open office spaces. A step-by-step approach was implemented in which two floors were redesigned while the campus was fully functional.
In order to give the teams that live in the rooms a sense of personal responsibility, the design team created a living-inspired environment that gives an immediate sense of comfort. Each side area is unmistakable in its design, but maintains a uniform language in the buildings thanks to the textured and layered materiality. These rooms bring the outdoor area inwards, act as nodes on each floor and imitate comfortable living rooms and outdoor courtyards.
A variety of seating options - informal living rooms for brainstorming together, comfortable lounge chairs for concentrated work, flexible furniture with integrated whiteboard surfaces - enable users to use the rooms depending on the type of work to be done. Blitz specified about 800 pieces of furniture for the two buildings. In order to further improve the individual qualities of the individual work areas, the design team has equipped the rooms with selected decorative objects, works of art and Easter eggs, which playfully emphasize the different qualities of the individual areas.
While different surfaces, furniture and lighting give each work area its own identity, the rooms are connected by a series of open wooden trellises.
The trellises guide the user through the rooms and create a clear route across the floor. By significantly shifting the ceiling constellation, the trellises create a feeling of seclusion and intimacy in the workspaces without restricting access to daylight or views.
The success of the project was due to the skillful coordination between the design team and various consultants. Blitz, whose immersive and nimble process reflects the way his tech clients from Silicon Valley work more than that of a traditional architecture firm, used Google products to make coordination efficient and effective.
