The new Twitch HQ occupies nine floors of the new 350 Bush building in downtown San Francisco. Video gaming being at the center of Twitch's universe, we started the conceptual design approach with design research into the characters, patterns and spaces of early video games. These studies informed both the macro and micro scale design solutions for the new HQ space.

A sculptural central communication stair ascends from the ground level reception lobby. A tube-like portal, the stair is defined by a black metal outer jacket and warm wood inner liner, and opens up as it rises, connecting the main social functions while offering glimpses of adjacent spaces. Next to the stair, the Coffee/Beverage Bar and Lounge feature stenciled spatial graphics and built-in banquets, and act as a hub for the adjacent gaming rooms, broadcast rooms and adjacent Gaming Lounge.

Interview Rooms and Lounge are positioned on the main level, at the juncture between circulation spine and elevator core. The Dining space occupies the next level, with central Pantries/Lounges located on each upper level defined by spatial graphic murals.. Each of the eight levels reveals a different stencil pattern as a wayfinding system that builds on the gaming culture of Twitch. The adjacent pantries and lounges lead to the open workspace beyond.

The workspace is organized as alternating banks of open benching and enclosed formal and informal meeting spaces. Trapezoidal portals defined with contrasting wall and floor finishes, form deep thresholds between banks of meeting spaces and the circulation spine. Large themed meeting rooms array along the spine, as do a bank of meeting booths with shaped ceilings restating the design vocabulary. Elevator lobbies feature different linework murals interpreting classic video game scenes - again an instance of creative spatial graphic that aid wayfinding and speak to the company culture.

Photography: Bruce Damonte