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Architects: Bora Architects
- Area: 17000 ft²
- Year: 2014
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Photographs:Jeremy Bitterman
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Manufacturers: cove.tool
Text description provided by the architects. Designed in collaboration with the Airbnb Environments team, the Airbnb CX Hub - located in Portland’s historic Blagen Block – redefines a traditional costumer service call-center and revolutionizes how people work. Benefitting from Airbnb’s ongoing research on how to support and empower their Customer Experience Agents, the design provides a range of environments that accommodate different work styles, allowing CX Agents to choose a setting that best supports their work at any given time.
Agents are not assigned a specific space to work rather are presented with options for working at a table, lounging or standing - in active or focused settings. To determine the quantity of options provided, a redundancy was applied to the number of agents. Space was maximized by combining personal storage into standing height stations, giving agents a place to land and store personal belongings.
Power and data are provided at all locations for ultimate flexibility. To ensure acoustical comfort, efforts were taken to increase the effectiveness of walls and reduce reflectivity wherever possible. Additionally, agents can hear their own voice in the headsets they wear when taking calls - making them conscience of their volume.
The interior is divided North and South by an existing thick brick wall. This served as a natural way to create two distinct environments – active and focused. The active side provides an even, ambient light level, further brightened by the use of soft colors and light wood, encouraging collaboration.
The focused side is more subdued, featuring pockets of focused light over work areas with a dark and rich palette to impart a quieter atmosphere and support “heads down” work. Existing wood floors were patched, reflecting the buildings historic texture. The result is a flexible innovative work environment that feels welcoming and distinctly expressive both of Airbnb and of Portland.
