Carbonite, Inc. has opened its innovative new headquarters in Lafayette City Center in Downtown Crossing. Carbonite's new 52,000 s/f home will accommodate up to 400 employees. JLL along with project team members IA Interior Architects, WB Engineers+Consultants, Environments at Work, and Columbia Construction, collaborated on the project/build out and design. The owner and developer of Lafayette City Center at 2 Avenue de Lafayette is Boston-based the Abbey Group.
The sixth floor space is a comfortable and highly functional office environment. The industrial chic design brings the comforts of home into the workplace through thoughtful detailing, exposed ceilings, the use of reclaimed metal, wide plank floors and a central hearth. These elements are balanced by sleek glass office fronts and refined finishes.
The design of the space pays homage to Carbonite's history and brand through subtle references to Star Wars. More specifically,Carbonite's company name was inspired by Han Solo and The Empire Strikes Back. This reference is invoked throughout the workplace in a variety of ways including architectural detailing with carbonite-inspired reclaimed metal and modernized Star Wars environmental graphics. Reetika Vijay, managing principal at IA Interior Architects, was very pleased with how the collective teamused "the force" to create an integrated space where brand, wellness, environment, technology and business drivers merge. "What an amazing experience it was to collaborate on this project. Carbonite defined the vision and the entire team jumped on board to implement. It was truly an integrated effort....in a galaxy not too far away."
The floor plate has been designed to create departmental neighborhoods while preserving an open concept. Within each neighborhood, there are significant collaboration spaces offering a variety of work settings from small one-to-two person focus rooms to larger capacity conference rooms to more informal living rooms and multipurpose spaces. Beyond the neighborhoods, there are centrally located common areas positioned to support informal collaboration, including a high-end coffee bar and cafe area.
In moving to Lafayette City Center, a six-story 615,000 s/f office and retail complex, from 177 Huntington Ave. in Boston's Back Bay, Carbonite nearly doubled its footprint while creating an efficient and modern workplace that will be able to support its continued expansion.
"Lafayette City Center and Downtown Crossing is a convenient and vibrant place to be," said Carbonite's vice president Danielle Sheer. "We're in the center of the new Innovation District in Boston which is bustling with tech companies and start-ups. I am grateful to the team that helped select the site, and coordinated our needs across the company. We continue to work alongside a terrific group of advisors, architects and builders on what is truly a fantastic new Carbonite headquarters."
Joining Tom on the JLL PDS team was Sarah Swanson. JLL is also the exclusive leasing agent for Lafayette City Center.