Contract Magazine - June 2018 - 82

The cafe area includes a
back-of-house preparation
space and five serving
stations (this page).
Circulation paths meander
through the bays, encouraging chance meetings and
connections, and team bays
create intimate groupings
within the open environment
(opposite).

space a number of times," says Brett Hautop, senior director
and global head of Design + Build for LinkedIn's Global Workplace
Services. Turning right at the Corian-wrapped reception desk leads
to work areas and conference rooms, while left heads toward
the massive 40,000-square-foot cafe.
The cafe's five food stations each offer different cuisines,
from Paleo to Latin or Asian fare, and reside within different seating
zones. "We identified five unique parks within New York City
as the inspiration behind each server," Hutton says. "The intent
was not to directly imitate them, but to take away what each means
to the local community." For instance, the design team incorporated
the High Line as a "linear promenade with touch points along the
way." The only recognizable extraction, perhaps, is one food-station
wall of colored-glass squares, which alludes to a sight along the
actual elevated park. Meanwhile, an intimate corner-furnished
with high-end woven-leather chairs by Holly Hunt and a lush living
wall-becomes a private dining space via an operable garage door,
a nod to the exclusive Gramercy Park.
Flexible solutions
It may be astonishing that a company cafeteria takes up half
of the floor plan, but this is more than a food court. LinkedIn
currently occupies seven floors within the building, and prior
to this third-floor renovation, there was no communal space large
enough to accommodate the entire staff of the company's vertical
campus. The new cafe finally unites the staff, whether for meals
and social events or company town halls in a dedicated publicassembly area. It's also indicative of where office design is moving:
"Technology enables work from anywhere and organizations will
not want to pay for costly real estate if activities can be done more
effectively in other places. What brings people into the office
is social interaction, sense of belonging to a community, and
a high-quality experience," Hutton says. "We're going to see more

82

emphasis placed on creating spaces for people to connect
rather than to do focus work."
The cafe's numerous seating options, which range from
communal or high tables to banquettes and high-backed booths,
provide these alternative collaborative-work settings. Here,
the typical amenities enabling seamless work include wireless
connectivity and power outlets embedded in most of the tables
and benches. The private dining room additionally functions
as another meeting, presentation, or executive luncheon space.
Collaborating with the Steelcase ARC team, who conducted
workplace observation studies, M Moser gained insight into end-user
engagement, which in-turn influenced the floor plan and furnishings
of the designated work zones. These boast just as much variety
as the cafeteria does: Quiet phone rooms, seating nooks lining
circulation corridors, open workstations for up to 240 employees
(primarily sales and marketing), meeting and training rooms of
different scales, pantries, and even a game room sporting an oversized
chess set ensure that there's an inspired backdrop for every activity,
group, or individual. "Companies are recognizing their work
environment as a business resource for high performance rather
than just a place to house people," Hutton says.
Branding without branding
In addition to programming, one client requisite was to avoid
overuse of the company's logo and signature blue. "LinkedIn

contractdesign.com

JUNE 2018
http://www.contractdesign.com
Contract Magazine - June 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract Magazine - June 2018
