Aol Headquarters – Palo Alto
Aol has been busy lately with acquisitions of companies like Techcrunch, Huffington Post, and Thing Labs among others. With a blossoming talent pool, AOL decided to move its West Coast headquarters to a new corporate space in Palo Alto as part of this effort and brought in Studio O+A to give the office a fresh design.
Studio O+A adds
“The existing space retained a distinctly 1980s corporate aesthetic: drop ceilings hanging overevery office, high cubicles separating employees into tightly defined workstations, dark finishes,and oblique lines. O+A restored the space to a clean, white canvas—exposing the ceilings,stripping the walls to reveal the structure, and generally creating a spatial equivalent to the transparency that AOL was bringing to every aspect of its business.”
In my latest visit to the Bay Area, I was able to visit the space and can say that it was breathtaking. The space has a very youthful feel, some of the features include “exposed ceilings, concrete floors, expansive sightlines, and modern furniture all contribute to the industrial look. The result is a space that communicates what it is made of and how it was built.”
Another cool feature is the kitchen area, which is dubbed the “Town Hall”. “The kitchen’s bench-seating, amplelight, and bursts of color against a white palette go well with the game and relaxation area. It is centrally located to bring together staff from departments that might not otherwise interact.”
Overall, the space is a wonderful collection of eye-catching touches of color, furniture, and materials. Loads of natural light flood the space. While the majority of these images are from the second floor, the first floor will house a startup incubator and Techcrunch’s offices.
Design: Studio O+A
Custom Furniture: MASHstudios
Photography: Jasper Sanidad
