Fourstar Offices – Shenzhen
Blitz was engaged by product development and consumer goods distribution firm, Fourstar Group, to design their offices located in Shenzhen, China.
Fourstar Group tapped Blitz’s expertise creating innovative offices in Silicon Valley to design its Shenzhen office space to reflect the product development and consumer goods distributor’s innovative design services and reinforces the company’s culture of creativity. Blitz transformed a three‐floor, 59,400‐square‐foot office building into a best‐in‐class office space to support Fourstar Group’s expanding global retail partnerships and intense demand for toptier talent. In addition to its headquarters in Shenzhen, Fourstar Group has offices across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. As an innovation‐driven company, Fourstar Group leads the entire product development process from design and engineering through manufacturing, quality control, packing, marketing, and distribution.
With the city of Shenzhen quickly becoming China’s hub for high‐tech industry and fierce competition among premiere companies, it was imperative that the space meet the needs of the modern worker and establish Fourstar Group as a trailblazer for the shifting workplace landscape in the region. Fourstar Group’s investment in a modern, innovative, and comfortable workspace has immensely helped to attract and retain the best talent in order to drive efficiencies and deliver industry excellence. Strategies taken from San Francisco and Silicon Valley start‐ups—such as open collaborative zones and a variety of amenity‐rich resources—remove formality and siloed working patterns typical in most Chinese office environments.
A central atrium filled with local bamboo plants is the primary organizational anchor in the space. Product development, safety reliability, and chemical testing laboratories flank either side of the atrium and provide visual connection to the open workstations beyond while also allowing daylight to infiltrate the lab spaces. Research and development are put on display and reinforce the story behind Fourstar Group’s design process.
The atrium is the first entry point for visitors and retailers as they navigate through the space. Each room and product development area is intentionally positioned along the sales journey to allow Fourstar Group’s sales teams to tell the story of the business and products. The journey ends at a display and sales showroom that features a full‐scale retail store mock‐up equipped with movable shelving displays showcasing a variety of products. The space is adjacent to the executive meeting rooms to provide a natural flow and progression for visitors, from entry to meeting area to showroom.
Vibrant colors, visual connectivity, and social amenity spaces help shape a fluid and open workplace environment that reinforces a culture of collaboration. Each of the three floors has its own distinct color, which provides clear wayfinding through the space and establishes a visual identity for each floor. Open office workstations wrap the building’s perimeter, allowing each worker access to daylight and views. Amenity spaces, such as a full catering kitchen and lunch room, coffee bar, fitness center, and creative informal meetings spaces, further reinforce Fourstar Group’s commitment to staff wellbeing.
Graphics in various spaces enliven the atmosphere and inspire staff: office areas exhort “Get the creativity flowing”; a café displays the chemical formula for caffeine; the cafeteria proclaims elements of healthy meals; and in the fitness center, chalk‐board graffiti‐like messages encourage workers to “Decide. Commit. Succeed”.
Design: Blitz
Design Team: Seth Hanley, Kimberley O’Dowd, Zach Meade, Emily Burchill
Photography: Mick Ryan
