Offices aren’t just places to get work done. In NYC tech, they’re reflections of the innovation and creativity that brews inside.
These companies have gone above and beyond to design office spaces that encourage collaboration while also providing space to disconnect. Take a look inside some of the most interesting workplaces in the city.
Knotel is in the business of designing offices spaces — and it shows. Project Manager Christina Dadona gave us a virtual tour and called out some of her favorite aspects of the office, from the massive common space to the lively kitchen area.
What's the most unique part of your office? How does this represent the culture of your company?
When you enter our office, you find a large common area. There is a variety of soft seating options — couches, chairs, private booths — that provide a comfortable and collaborative place to work. We also test products from our furniture vendors in this space. There's room for employees to work alone, hold meetings or host town halls, and the space reflects the flexibility of our company. We often host our members in this area — they love taking our spaces, which is why we never plan on staying in one place for too long!
There's room for employees to work alone, hold meetings or host town halls, and the space reflects the flexibility of our company.”
What's your team's favorite part of the office and why?
Our kitchen is probably everyone's favorite part of the office. It has large garage doors that allow us to either close off the space to host meetings or leave it open for everyone to have lunch together. I find fewer people take their lunches back to their desks because of the large open kitchen — it becomes a central gathering place during the day and is where we host happy hours and lunch and learns. I often find people enjoying drinks there after work as well!
At logistics company Transfix, it’s not just one room or section that serves as the focal point — it’s an entire floor. Workplace Manager AJ Hodge described every nook of his favorite floor in the office, and explained how it reflects an essential company value.
What's the most unique part of your office? How does this represent the culture of your company?
The most unique part of our office is our newly renovated 18th floor. This floor provides multiple locations for impromptu team collaborations, large culture-driven events and training. It also boasts a game room with classic board games, a pool table and cable TV to enjoy — the room is appropriately dubbed “Fun City.” On this floor, there’s also an outdoor terrace which is currently being constructed, but is slated to house trees and other greenery, along with ample space for taking your lunch or work outdoors and enjoy a beautiful view of the Empire State building.
At Transfix, we actually survey everyone and ask them what they’d like to see when constructing a new space or redesigning a part of the floor — we found that one of the most desired features of a new design was to make sure that we had cool, modern spaces for teams to cross-collaborate or have an impromptu brainstorming session in an area that gives natural light, ergonomic capabilities and power so your laptop never dies. The heart of our culture is teamwork and providing this space was incredibly important to the lifeline of our team — since its genesis, collaboration and teamwork (along with fun, of course) has increased exponentially and we’re very proud of that!
The heart of our culture is teamwork and providing this space was incredibly important to the lifeline of our team.”
What's your team's favorite part of the office and why?
The favorite part of the office for my team is the “parking lot.” This is an area on the floor that has plenty of stylish, relaxing and functional furniture along with plenty of natural light. It’s in the heart of the floor right by our energetic operations team. The parking lot offers an informal place for Transfixers to work, bounce ideas off of each other or just kick back and converse with one another.
