Dropbox is the cloud storage service designed to simplify the way people create, share and collaborate. Much the same could also be said of the Dropbox Sydney’s new workplace designed by Gensler Sydney. Based on the concept of ‘workplace as home,’ it is a warm, welcoming environment intended to be stress free, comfortable and with a family feel; a space that simplifies the way employees create, share and collaborate to make Dropbox possible.
“A great home says a lot about its owners, and all great homes evolve over time as they take on the characteristics of those who live in it,” says Simon Trude, Principal and Managing Director of Gensler Sydney. “The strategy and concept for Dropbox’s new Sydney workplace emerged from this theme of home and the spirit of family, and that it should be built on a foundation of strong values and beliefs, which are Dropbox’s own guiding principles.” These principles represented a focus on human needs; removing stress from work to enhance productivity; fostering a community where everyone is ‘in it’ together; building with purpose; avoiding the unnecessary; and having fun.
The Dropbox Sydney office has a professional yet comfortable domestic aesthetic and atmosphere while showcasing the brand and culture and establishing a sense of place and belonging. The various functional spaces are like rooms that one would find in a house – a kitchen, lounge, courtyard, and dining room – while work stations, meeting rooms and other formal and informal spaces cater to different work styles and perspectives.
There is a social hub much like a comfortable living room designed for relaxing, gaming, casual meetings and larger social gatherings. Next to the lounge, a kitchen, bar and open dining area is where employees are encouraged to eat, drink and socialise. “It is the activated heart of the space designed for comfort and connection with family,” Simon explains.
The patio-like courtyard helps relieve stress with greenery and a connection to the outdoors, and a dining room and cellar are more private and intimate but can be opened and connected to the larger dining and courtyard areas. A walk-in garden in the boardroom serves as an acoustic and visual buffer while also introducing the de-stressing element of nature.
Sydney-inspired signage and graphics bring a local flavour into the workplace, and include large-scale beach scenes by Bondi photographer Eugene Tan (a.k.a. Aquabumps), which are applied to walls and more unexpected places, such as the tops of ping-pong tables.
If Dropbox is designed to relieve the stress of people working together, then so too is the Dropbox Sydney office. With a focus on providing a warm, welcoming and comfortable environment, the workplace is a new interpretation of ‘working from home.'
Photographer: Katherine Lu
Source: www.indesignlive.com/the-work/office-got-stressed-not-dropbox-sydney
