With over ten successful years under their belt, San Francisco-based technology company New Relic continues to grow its footprint with the addition of an East Coast headquarters. Since its inception in 2008, New Relic has established offices worldwide, including Oregon, Arizona, and now Atlanta, Georgia. The opening of a new office brings significant opportunities for its business relationships, employees, and culture. New Relic sought the design expertise of global architecture, design, and strategy firm NELSON Worldwide to breathe life into a new workplace. The resulting design draws influences from the company's passion for celebrating STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education) and Atlanta's rich history, culture, and landscape. The Atlanta HQ will be instrumental in driving the latest phase of their growth by providing better coverage to their clients on the Eastern Seaboard and giving them access to new sources of diverse talent from local universities.
Similar to New Relic, the city of Atlanta has grown and proven to be an essential part of the evolution of the technology industry. Atlanta is a major travel hub, making it a convenient home base for its team members and an easy-to-reach destination for its customers. The city is also home to a growing tech scene with many STEM-forward universities, including Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, and Emory University—a great source of talent for New Relic's growing company. Most importantly, Atlanta is a city defined by its railroad industry and ever-growing expanse to connect goods, ideas, and people.
Situated at 1100 Peachtree Street in Atlanta's Midtown neighborhood, the office draws inspiration from New Relic's San Francisco home base. The design team developed a design language unique to the New Relic brand while also being distinctively Atlanta. Clean architectural lines, mixed metal tones, and warm woods reflect the city's past while drawing its color palette from the lush green landscapes, local flora, and geology. In combination with a biophilic palette, NELSON purposefully struck a balance between architecture and nature through this celebration of history.
New Relic and NELSON ventured forward to create a new Terminus in Atlanta. The headquarters will become a space that enhances New Relic's recruitment initiatives, solidifies talent retention, fosters ideas, and harnesses the power of creative thought. Following a city whose roots started in the railroad industry and birthed the Terminus hub by establishing the Zero Mile Post, so will New Relic in Atlanta. The headquarters pays homage to the community and provides a sense of local authenticity through signage and wayfinding. At key spaces, such as the Board Room and Training Room, New Relics' celebration of STEAM comes to life by naming key areas after significant historical figures that added to Atlanta's rich history and contributions to the arts and sciences.
In addition to history and landscape, New Relic longed for a workspace that satisfied all facets of employee wellness through amenities and furnishings. A variety of spaces, including communal areas, private phone rooms for heads-down work, sit-to-stand desks, collaboration zones, acoustic rooms, and indirect lighting and adjustable lighting, were all incorporated to meet the evolving demands of different work styles and the environment's impact on the human experience. Rather than having employees be stagnant at their desks, movement is encouraged through flexible workstations—giving employees a lot more autonomy over how they choose to get their work done.
In combination with biophilic elements such as the preserved plantings, greens walls, and organic materials embedded in the design, NELSON incorporated various other amenities that support the idea of a wellness-oriented culture. New Relic's HQ includes a mother's room, a wellness room, and spa-like showers. With sustainability at the forefront of New Relic's mission statement, eco-friendly and sustainable materials were pivotal to the design's success while supporting its company values.
Staying true to the tech company's West Coast design philosophy while also adding a touch of flair through Atlanta-inspired elements, NELSON Worldwide was able to conceptualize a headquarters that is the epitome of the New Relic brand.
Team:
Architect: NELSON Worldwide
Client: New Relic
Photography: courtesy of NELSON Worldwide
