Stephen Baker, Baker Design Group

Today, competition for talent is fierce, and companies are responding by offering outstanding office space to market to competitive candidates. What makes an office into an asset for attraction and retention is simple: create a space that evokes an emotional connection to the environment, inspiring people to visualize themselves at home in this new venue. When our firm was charged with creating an “un-corporate” global headquarters for TripAdvisor, we sought to bring these goals to life.

In July, TripAdvisor unveiled its brand new 282,000 s/f headquarters in Needham, Mass. As the building’s designers, we were tasked with bringing TripAdvisor’s soul to life, connecting teams all over the world, catering to different work styles, and enabling team members to do their best work in spaces that encapsulate the TripAdvisor culture. TripAdvisor wanted its employees to see their office as a place they were proud to bring their friends and family of any age. With these goals in mind, we focused our energy on creating a headquarters that would set TripAdvisor apart- and provide its employees with some of the coolest perks an office can offer.

One of our first steps was to conceptualize a range of spaces that met the needs of the nearly 1,500 people at TripAdvisor. To create a truly collaborative work environment, we needed to design a space that aligned with the workstyles of all employees, present and future. To do that, we needed to bring the comforts of home into a variety of work venues, including everything from open collaborative areas to small private rooms for quiet, focused work. Prefer to work standing up? Employees can use standing desks. Need a creative space to inspire creative work? Employees can work while lounging by the fireplace, in the kitchen, at the pub, or in the game room, depending on what works best for them. And of course, employees who would rather work at a workstation or table also have that option.

TripAdvisor Forum - Needham, MA

As a fast-growing global company it’s important for teams of all sizes to be able to easily connect for productive work. For smaller team brainstorms, we designed scrum areas supported with technology and whiteboards and interspersed them throughout each floor, as well as a large conference space designed to host employee “hackathons.” At the heart of the new headquarters is an atrium called the TripAdvisor Forum. The Forum, which seats 1,100 people, is used daily to support open meetings and collaboration, the four-story space features a three-story vertical garden, a 18’ x 32’ central projection screen, video displays, theater seating, a large four-sided fireplace, and a partly cloudy sky ceiling design. The Forum is able to broadcast “Live” events online, on a moment’s notice, like the CEO quarterly presentation to their offices and partners worldwide.

Similar to when one works from home, each employee or visitor to TripAdvisor’s headquarters can create their own experience depending on where and how they choose to work. To complement that, we infused the global nature of the company into every aspect of the design to make the space authentic. TripAdvisor’s brand is present throughout the building, from images of user-generated travel photos and quotes incorporated into the end-panels in work stations to naming each floor after a different continent, which serves as the inspiration for the decor found on that floor.

Today’s office spaces are about much more than a desk and a chair. It’s an opportunity for a company to infuse its values and brand into every aspect of the firm, while creating work environments suitable for every employee. For many companies, that’s a difficult feat to consider. But as the TripAdvisor headquarters demonstrates, when these elements are prioritized so that the environment seamlessly supports each employee and the company at large, the result is well-worth it. Creating an inspiring “home” for your teams and collaborators is not just a gesture of good hospitality, but insight to how the world’s most inspiring and most productive companies operate.

Stephen Baker is the founder and president of Baker Design Group, a Boston-based firm that practices regionally, nationally, and internationally. Founded on a passion for design innovation and an ethos of personal client service and collaboration, their work is multi-disciplinary and includes architecture, interior design, industrial design, exhibit design, and branded environments.

Stephen Baker is founder and principal of Baker Design Group, Boston, Mass.