CarGurus Global Headquarters – Boston
IA Interior Architects designed the CarGurus headquarters in Boston, focusing on creating a supportive and sustainable workplace inspired by a road trip theme, promoting employee wellbeing, inclusivity, and flexibility.
CarGurus, a leading global automotive marketplace known for bringing transparency to the car shopping process through innovative search and analytics technology, has consolidated its headquarters into one central location at 1001 Boylston Street in downtown Boston. This relocation unites nearly 1,000 employees from various scattered locations across Cambridge, MA into the top ten floors of a new 20-story building. The new headquarters offers unobstructed views of the Mass Pike, Back Bay, and beyond, enhancing the workplace experience.
Creating a supportive workplace that embodies CarGurus’ mission to empower people to reach their destination was paramount. Employee wellbeing was embraced from multiple angles throughout the project, with diversity, equity, and inclusion steering many design decisions. Robust mothers’ suites are located on multiple floors, every floor has comfortable wellness spaces and single-use restrooms, and the workstation design empowers individuals to modify their workspaces to meet specific needs, whether through wholesale reconfiguration or adjustment of a task light. Ergonomics and acoustics are thoughtfully addressed throughout. Quiet areas for introspection are balanced with more active spaces that support socialization.
Sustainable choices and a connection to nature were integral to the design. Views and natural light are maximized for all, and wood textures and natural materials are harmonized with greenery throughout the space. The project is on track for LEED Gold certification.
The spatial design draws inspiration from the ultimate road trip, with an overarching planning concept based on topographical forms one might experience on a drive. The central volumes of built space evoke land masses, with a central fissure leading from the elevator lobby to the floor amenity. This gesture is reinforced through material choices and ceiling and flooring design. A roadway-like circulation path rings the space, creating a sense of motion through a repetitive lighting gesture.
Establishing destinations and ease of navigation was critical to the spatial and experiential design. The CarGurus HQ is a connected vertical ecosystem. A continuous communicating stair, with energetic graphics, weaves together the CarGurus community, fostering frictionless access between teams. An intuitive wayfinding strategy draws from the CarGurus brand, with primary brand colors, red and blue, paired with a neutral base palette of warm woods, crisp whites, and soft greys to create consistent odd and even floor schemes.
Visual interest and variety are brought in strategically with a geographic floor theme. The individual themes manifest themselves in the spatial design and architectural finishes of the floor amenity, as well as within the graphics. A range of varied amenity offerings drive cross-pollination through a mix of space typologies, such as a game room, two libraries, a multi-story reception, a tech bar, a barista bar, multiple training spaces, an all-hands space, a video production suite, two ad hoc incubation spaces, a beer garden, two roof decks, several balconies, a grab-and-go food pick-up area, an interview suite, a boardroom, and many more.
The workplace strategy and planning approach for the typical floorplate evolved significantly over the course of the project. Initially launched before the pandemic, the original floor plan focused on density, featuring a traditional layout of 6×6 workstations assigned 1:1 with adequate collaboration spaces. However, the pandemic presented a unique opportunity to rethink the role of the office in CarGurus culture, leading the project team to quickly pivot towards unassigned workspaces. The resulting floor plan is a dynamic collaboration hive, full of choice workpoints, robust collaborative spaces, and central social hubs, with future flexibility built into the infrastructure to support changing needs. Through thoughtful design and strategic planning, IA Interior Architects has created a space that not only meets the functional needs of CarGurus’ growing team but also inspires and supports their pioneering spirit.
Design: IA Interior Architects
Photography: Robert Benson
