When imagining the design of their own home, LinkedIn’s Global Workplace Services team wanted to develop a dedicated environment for their ongoing research. A place that would stimulate a culture of intelligent risk taking and continuous experimentation. A place where learnings could be applied in real-time before being rolled out to LinkedIn employees around the world.
The LinkedIn Workplace Design Lab is not about a beautiful finished product, rather, it is a framework for continuous modification and improvement. Throughout the space, experimentation happens at variety of scales. The walls are lined with a custom wall hanging system with removable panels that are used by the team for display space, storage, and testing of wall finishes – including different brands of whiteboard, acoustic materials, and graphic solutions. The open space and enclosed meeting rooms test building materials, including prototypes and early-run flooring products like carpet, resilient flooring, and adhesive strategies. Explorations for advancing the building infrastructure include kitchen equipment, plumbing fixture types, light quality/coloration, and natural vs controlled ventilation. Flexible spaces are supported by an overhead grid system of power and data on easy-to-use drop down reels. Different IT & AV systems are installed in meeting spaces to enable initial test runs of equipment and provide real-time user feedback before being implemented into larger projects. Specialized technologies, including under carpet sensors, track utilization throughout. In close partnership with manufacturers, new furniture solutions are tested in every area. These include new products and prototype custom solutions for workstations, alternative work settings, and modular space making solutions.
The diverse elements being tested in this building collectively define a new model of space. A model that gives individuals and teams greater control over their environment as they seek new ways to improve the success of their workplace and its cultural impact on their people.
Photography: Emily Hagopian
LinkedIn Workplace Design Laboratory
Category
Work - Medium
Description
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Design Team: M Moser Associates