Long a prestige symbol of corporate success, the corner office is getting a makeover. Companies like the Fintech firm AutoGravity are turning their corner offices into community spaces where employees can connect and collaborate, drawing inspiration from the best views around. For AutoGravity, this inventive workspace reflects the company’s roots as a tech startup and its cultural values of teamwork, innovation, and loyalty.
“We are not your traditional company, so we didn’t want a traditional corporate environment,” said Chief Operating Officer Nick Stellman. “The results spark creativity and boost morale.”
Transforming corner offices into community space is just the tip of the iceberg for AutoGravity. Its gleaming new offices at Sand Canyon Business Center include a logoed galaxy ceiling twinkling above second-story walkways, a loft-like floor plan flooded with natural light, and fully functional outdoor work spaces. Slicing through the core of the space is the office’s most dramatic feature: a quarter-cut, solid walnut slide that offers employees an express route from the second floor to ground level.
We are not your traditional company, so we didn’t want a traditional corporate environment…the results spark creativity and boost morale.
In AutoGravity’s new offices, employees get from point A to point B on wide, polished concrete floors by bicycle, skateboard or hoverboard. They brainstorm on “idea walls” and on whiteboard veneer desktops. The kitchen is stocked with espresso machines, sandwiches, fruit, cereal, and snacks. The company’s outdoor space sports sleek furniture for drilling down or kicking back. Indoor and outdoor areas, like the “corner office” community spaces, are designed to facilitate face-to-face interaction and to preserve the company’s start-up culture.
“AutoGravity’s open office environment promotes collaboration and fosters innovation,” said Stellman.”The executive team encourages all employees to ask questions, offer comments and propose ideas. Many chats with leadership take place over a game of ping-pong or lunch at the picnic table.”
Steve Case, executive vice president of Irvine Company Office Properties, has watched as companies reexamine their workplaces to better reflect company identity and drive innovation.
“We worked with AutoGravity to design and build one of the most creative and inspiring workspaces in Orange County,” says Case. “We understood their need for flexibility to address their dynamic growth. The result is a space that reflects their culture and is a tremendous asset in their efforts to hire the best and brightest talent.”