As the leading brewer in the country, Anheuser-Busch is constantly challenged to innovate, to be ahead of the curve and to set an example for the industry. Those mandates hold true even with its workspace. Anheuser-Busch needed a space that would help achieve optimal, organizational agility for long term growth in its new Commercial Strategy Office in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Designed by Big Apple-based TPG Architecture, the new, eight-story workplace is both whimsically unexpected and simultaneously, very New York.
Spanning nearly 100,000-square-feet, including a fully stocked rooftop terrace, Anheuser-Busch’s Chelsea outpost is an open, transparent, connected space that breathes life into the brand’s mission of bringing people together for a better world through beer. Embracing a startup design aesthetic to stand out amongst the neighborhood’s tech giants, TPG’s team anchored the office scheme with a large central staircase designed to accommodate congregation and circulation. Set against a backdrop of full scale graphics and brand imagery, the new office features a strategic mix of spaces suited for heads-down work, cross-departmental collaboration, and the occasional toast.
An inventive ground floor entryway connects Anheuser-Busch to the surrounding community and houses meeting spaces, lounges, and an in-house microbrewery called 24th St. Hops—recalling the building’s Chelsea locale. Above, six consecutive workplace floors are connected by a large atrium with a meandering interconnecting stair, topped by a skylight that brings light down to the lowest level of the space. With total through-floor visibility, and clear lines of sight to other floors, the result is a vibrant space that connects employees with each other, and with the company’s myriad brands.
The 12th floor features the Biergarten, which is a blended environment for employees to collaborate, or to relax and test beer from a 34’ long self-service beer bar that is surrounded by picnic benches, lounge furniture, swings, and a pantry. The roof terrace provides another environment to work or congregate while taking in the spectacular views of Downtown Manhattan.
