YETI Headquarters – Austin
Gensler was engaged by YETI, an Austin-based producer of premium outdoor gear, as a design partner to create its global headquarters.
YETI faced an immense challenge in simultaneously addressing its meteoric growth without losing the startup energy and hometown connections that fueled its employees.
YETI’s leadership specifically did not want anything corporate. They wanted the space to be authentic, down-to-earth and functional. One of the founders was part of the interview process and was involved in all early decisions, which set the tone for the project. Gensler was challenged to honor YETI’s culture and brand and to avoid anything pretentious. That included honoring the 100-year-old history of the founders’ Texas Hill Country ranching family.
Gensler’s design team crafted a work home as earthy and real as YETI. With plain honest materials and natural outdoor hues, the campus includes a fire pit, an outdoor band stage / workplace, a brew house, and nothing that feels “corporate.” Hand-tooled leather, raw steel, recycled inner tubes, and worn denim materials help evoke the brand lifestyle throughout the interiors rather than echoing typical corporate headquarters. Bottle openers, for instance, form the logo in the lobby. Steel door pulls are engraved with lariats. The executive conference room cantilevers into the main lobby, like a wood cabin. The two building entry areas feature hand-finished copper paneling by local artisans, a nod to one of the key insulating properties of the company’s world-famous coolers.
Staff amenities include checkout facilities for kayaks and tents, a work café, a full service barista bar, fitness center, all hands spaces, outdoor work flex entertaining spaces complete with hammocks, conference and training facilities, and ice makers for filling personal coolers. As welcoming and as quirky as Austin and in natural harmony with the Hill Country, YETI’s new home celebrates its hometown hero status.
Design: Gensler
Design Team: Mary Bledsoe, Amber Branham, Ashley Engle, Sara Green, and Erica Spicer
Architect: GFF
Contractor: Harvey Cleary Builders
Furniture Dealer: Furniture for Business
Photography: Dror Baldinger, Garrett Rowland
