On a quiet but conveniently placed city street in Brighton, England, creative designers at GTA Interior have created new office spaces for leading video game software development company BossAlien.
The update of the company’s old offices was spurred by the sudden procurement of a fantastic new contract. While this new arrangement was sure to boost the company into even bigger success and opportunity than it was already garnering, it also required a better and more effective workspace than the office situation at that time was providing employees and developers. Executives decided that there’s no time like the present to make beneficial improvements if it means simultaneously improving the quality and quantity of work they can produce for their clients.
BossAlien was contracted to produce a useful and intriguing new mobile game for a major franchise. In light of this, the decision was made to use that big project as an opportunity to build a brand new workspace that more effectively reflects the brand and where it’s headed, while still keeping the company’s existing core values at the forefront.
The description of the company’s goals that was provided to design teams was that they aimed to create a “home away from home” for their staff, who occasionally spend long hours in the office dedicated to producing high quality games that they’re actually passionate about. Executives as BossAlien firmly believe that their teams deserve the best things in return for their hard work, so they wanted to ensure that their offices live up to that standard as well.
The result was a unique and creative environment that we’d actually even describe as fun, despite being a place of work! After all, the company exists in an industry in which enjoying the work process only makes sense. The environment is engaging and innovative but also gives off a residential, homey atmosphere designed to make teams and guests alike feel comfortable.
The new office spans three whole floors, giving the company much more space to work with than they previously had access to. Despite wanting to take full advantage of all three floors, executives and design teams wanted to make sure that the flow of energy, information, and movement didn’t feel cut off between the floors, nor the staff working there.
In order to combat this isolation and division issue, designers proposed turning the second floor specifically into a collaboration floor. They wanted to make it into a space where staff from the other two more focused work floors might meet, work together, brainstorm, and swap ideas in a way that’s much more connected and interactive than many offices foster.
The collaboration floor consists of a large primary meeting space and an open kitchen and break area that is available to all staff, no matter where or how they’re working. It also features a tiered style seating structure that creates a diverse and changeable space modelled after classic town halls. These spaces encourage staff from all over the wider office to meet here, establishing it as a kind of central hub of knowledge and activity.
The company’s work values weren’t the only thing designers wanted to display and pay homage to within their design. They also took these new offices as an opportunity to incorporate the company’s unique setting, the unique and creative artistic community that calls the city of Brighton home.
The new space reflects Brighton in many ways. Decor details from the timber pendant lights to the custom neon artwork reflect the handiwork of local designers and artisans. Even the the break space incorporates local culture right into the office because it serves local beer and coffee, thereby benefitting and supporting other businesses in the area.
Perhaps the best display of local art and culture, however, is the set of large graffiti murals on the second floor. These colourful, eye catching pieces were designed and painted by Brighton based street artists Snub23 and Will Blood. Each piece of artwork spans large portions of the wall and supports. Both are one of a kind works of art customized specifically to the space.
The tones, colour schemes, and materiality are all a combination of modernity and natural chic. Industrial influence can be found in the exposed ceiling systems and the shape of many furnishings, while natural looking raw plywood and dark stained wood can both be found in joinery and support details. Warm tones and visually textured carpets are incorporated in other details to provide pops of interest and contrast against the otherwise urban aesthetic.
Unique seating options and individual work or break spaces contribute to the whole idea of making the space feel like a home away from home. Hanging dish chairs add a playful touch, for example, reflecting the fun nature of the company and what it develops.
Photos by Portico Photographic Marketing