What Is the Ultimate Office?
I've only seen it once.
I was thinking a lot about my last post and what it would take to make a great, productive office environment. In my career, I’ve seen hundreds of different office environments, and the best one of all was the family offices of a wealthy clan in downtown Bellevue, Washington. This didn’t look like any office I’ve ever seen before. Instead, it looked more like a house within a high-rise, and everything from the moment you stepped through the unassuming entrance was a buildout where the cost just didn’t seem to matter. What I remember most was the very thick emerald green carpet and dark wood throughout. It looked like the inside of a 1920s manor house. I still remember the quiet.
Most of the people in the offices were there to manage the funds from the sale of a company the family built. It was mostly finance and legal people moving around the offices. I don’t recall how many people in total, but I do remember it had a full kitchen and the ability to prepare large meals on site.
I didn’t see all their offices, so I have no idea how much space they had, but it was at least half a floor in a Bellevue high-rise. What made it especially nice were all the nearby restaurant options and proximity to Bellevue Square, a large upscale mall a short distance away. I could tell that they were very careful about their location and didn’t compromise on anything.
Bill and Melinda Gates each have their own offices at Carillon Point in Kirkland, Washington, near the water with few good restaurant choices nearby, but I suspect it’s a security issue for both of them. One office was just down the hall from us. I’ve been in other family offices when I was raising money, and they run the range from sterile corporate variety to something that looks more like home. Not one that I saw ever had cubicles. They were almost always private individual offices. I can see why, with so many private financial matters under consideration.
I’ve long thought about what makes the perfect office. By far the worst I’ve worked in was an expensive buildout in the worst part of Seattle with very few restaurant choices, surrounded by very high crime and persistent car break-ins. While the insides were nice, the lack of privacy in the “hotelled” space made it impossible to concentrate or work on company confidential matters. I’d go in at 4 AM so I could find suitable parking where I could keep an eye on my car and be out early enough to get more productive hours in at home. It was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever witnessed from a highly dysfunctional partnership. At no time did they ever think to check parking during normal business hours. Crime was so bad they had to hire overnight security to constantly monitor the outside of the building.
Open Interface North America was downtown Seattle because it was very easy bus rides to where most of our engineers lived. We were surrounded by so many restaurant choices we couldn’t help but get fatter. That experience taught me the importance of having an office in an area with vitality and food choices. It’s nice to romanticize about offices in the woods far away from restaurants, and I live it every day out here at Moose Lodge, but that’s just me. If I were looking for offices, it would no matter what be within a very short walking distance of restaurants.
I would never again do an open office environment. We’re a “continuity of thought” company at Hudson Cloud, so that flies in the face of that very thing. What I would do is create lots of small gathering rooms for small meetings and changes in environment. Two facing couches. Comfortable seating; all of that would make a great work environment. I also think an in-office kitchen keeps things moving and makes it easier to bring in food.
Per that article last week, I think the days of overpriced office space are over for the near future, and I expect rents to come down. I don’t believe in long leases and expensive buildouts unless you’re swimming in profits. When you’re very small, rent is everything, so go very modest at first. It’s a good carrot to move up when you can afford it. The reality of this new hybrid environment changes everything, but the point of this piece is to really think through your environment before you sign that lease, even if it is a sublease.
Nice review of a nearly unbounded question.
Our Director of Facilities was a design engineer with a real-estate license and 10 years at our collaborative, five-technology company.
We built three 4-story towers in a triangle, connected by bridges across the third floor. Our guy did a virtual walk from the farthest office on the first floor of tower 3 to the farthest office on the 4th floor of tower 1. Under seven minutes. NOBODY had any excuse not to get face-to-face when the situation called for it. Google owns it now, but it's still called Alza Plaza. Microsoft finished their building the same time as ours, but the Wall Street Journal reporter shot her segment in front of *our* building. We showed it at the next employee meeting!