This 33,000 square-foot tenant improvement in Mountain View, Calif., is home to a team of User Experience designers, researchers and engineers supporting a larger, confidential business unit. With the goal of creating a space tailored to the specific needs of this user group, SERA implemented agile work strategies to allocate less space to individuals and more to collective design teams — resulting in a positive, exciting cultural shift for occupants.
Starting with extensive observational studies, interviews, occupant surveys and room data analyses, SERA led users through a series of hands-on design exploration activities to develop key project outcomes. Without physical space or technological limitations, participants created a “blue-sky” vision for how their future workspace should feel. Progressive sessions highlighted conflicting ideas and introduced constraints, testing perceived priorities and using discussion and debate to build consensus on a final program and design aesthetic.
Carefully balancing between the needs of multiple unique working styles, assigned space for quiet focus is complemented by ample unassigned workspaces and a broad array of accessible collaboration spaces. A promenade of team rooms is the hub of the open office, displaying active project ideas and in-process work. The minimal palette of the renovated work spaces is neutral and uncluttered, putting emphasis on both the digital and analog work happening in the space.