Silicon Valley visual-computing pioneer Nvidia has joined the expanding list of tech moguls seeking to transform their work environment into the physical manifestation of their innovative business model. Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has released the first schematic renderings - designed by Gensler’s San Francisco office - that depict a pair of 250,000 square foot triangular motherships centered around collaboration - a complete contrast to the typical, dated office building commonly found throughout Silicon Valley’s “oddly banal” landscape.
More after the break...
Nvidia's new headquarters prides itself as being a modern workplace designed for collaboration and innovation, whose seamless transitions and exaggerated staircases spark spontaneous interactions and informal meetings. Even the notion of a staid lobby will be transformed into an “activity-filled space that serves as the heart of the building.”
The proposal reframes the logic of chip design - where the connections for information flow are designed first - as each of the two floor plates are centered around how people move, maximizing the opportunities to connect and enhance collaboration. This will all be housed in two-story, triangular volumes capped with a sculptural roofs composed of triangular facets that correspond to the interior layout, allowing vaulted ceilings and skylights as needed.
As Gensler principal and design director Hae Ko of San Francisco describes, “In thinking about the optimal geometry to organize this network of people, the triangle becomes a perfect shape where distances between connections are never too far away nor do people have to travel far to ‘the other side’. The triangle shape also serendipitously symbolizes the work that Nvidia does. Being a company whose product drives the visual-computing industry, the triangle is the fundamental primitive that defines all shapes in the digital realm.”
The new headquarters will be constructed in two phases, with ground breaking scheduled for the first building in June and completion set for July 2015. It is unknown when the second building will be constructed.
Nvidia isn’t the only one transforming their workspace: Apple has been developing their new campus for 2015, while Google continues to lead the way towards office innovation and Frank Gehry works on Facebook’s new headquarters in Menio Park.
