13 Jan 2020
Cool Workspaces
Background check company Checkr have recently collaborated with Studio BBA to design their new offices in San Francisco, California.
The new space is a humanized headquarters for this savvy young tech company, providing opportune space for employees to flourish. Whilst elegant architecture reflects the owners' style and vision, a large part of the company's core values is equitability, transparency and community and it was important for this to also be reflected in the design.
With 360-degree views, custom acoustic ceiling panels and a donut-shaped floor plan using workstation pods to maintain openness whilst defining the space, each floor of this workspace has a destination break area and intentional programming to encourage Checkr's teams to circulate freely and often between floors.
The headquarters has several amenities including a multi-function lunch space, a yoga lounge, a library for quiet time, and phone booths for private conversation. A 'jazz bar' destination space has been inspired by Charlie "Bird" Parker and jazz. It represents a forest at night, with dark and moody finishes and furnishings, including a service area with a hand-hammered aged brass island and coffee bar.
Finally a Welcome Center uses tone-on-tone blue, providing an anchored entry sequence while expanding on "birds in the sky" by adding "clouds" as inspiration. The "All the Hands" space is very flexible, and can be divided into three rooms for training, lounging and dining.
Front of house spaces have been considered as important as the back of house spaces and a thoughtful kitchen prep space has been created with a terrific view. As an integral part of the aesthetic, the art program was also developed as an expression of Checkr's values and culture, featuring local artists expressing their connection to the San Francisco Bay area and prison artists to underscore their commitment to authenticity.
