Global headquarters of Akamai technology | Sasaki

On November 1, Akamai technologies held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of its global headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As the world's leading content delivery network brand, Akamai chose to settle in Kendall square, the capital of technology, as the base to connect more than 7500 employees around the world. The branch offices that used to be distributed in six places are now integrated, and 2000 people from all departments can finally work in the same place for the first time since the establishment of the enterprise.

The new Akamai global headquarters integrates six branch offices across the Boston area, greatly optimizing the day-to-day operations of the enterprise and collaboration between departments. Sasaki is responsible for the interior design of the reception hall and office space, while the foundation building is in the charge of Pickard Chilton and stantec. In response to Akamai's most urgent need to accommodate all departments in a space of nearly 45000 square meters, Sasaki's solution is to realize the vision statement of the project by establishing the internal connection of the enterprise: "to connect the world, internal connection must be done first."

The design of the reception hall expresses the passion and vitality of Akamai, which makes a deep first impression. The customized lighting device is inspired by the Internet activity track, and the interactive lighting effect reveals the business nature of the enterprise in a new way. There is no imposing security platform in the hall. Visitors are led into the building by the reception staff. After climbing the stairs, the first thing that comes to our eyes is the control center responsible for monitoring global network and broadcasting activities, as well as various customer-oriented service facilities. The first two floors of the building focus on the welcome experience, and the subsequent floors present the culture and style of Akamai as a leading technology and innovation enterprise with vibrant and new office design.           
How to create an office space to stimulate collaboration and productivity is a big challenge for Sasaki, but the design team has found an opportunity for innovative design. In the 19 storey building, the specialty coffee bar, table tennis hall, game area and many other "destinations" promote the flow of people. All floors are connected by a mile long traffic flow line nicknamed "aka mile". Employees can shuttle up and down by walking instead of elevator. Along the way, they can visit the public space all over the building, whether for scheduled talks or not The "aka mile" has played an important role in promoting the communication.

The scattered lines crisscross each other, and the dense and concentrated layout is a metaphor for the frequent "hot spots" of the network. Floors are represented by different colors in batches, gradually changing from orange to blue according to the order of color wheel - both are brand colors of Akamai, warm colors represent base floors, the colder the color is, the higher the floor position is. Such color selection scheme not only shows the surging vitality of the enterprise, but also shows the space type through color at a glance.           
The color scheme of single floor also shows ingenuity. The common spaces along the "aka mile" line, such as meeting rooms, mobile office areas, leisure seats, kitchens and other social facilities, are equipped with warm walls, seats and devices to highlight their flexibility. On the contrary, the work areas with high concentration are neutral colors. These work areas are arranged away from "aka mile" to create a focused and quiet atmosphere. Such a color contrast strategy is applied to the whole headquarters building. It is not difficult for new and old visitors to identify their location by color.

Sasaki's design team has been working hard since the beginning of the project, using various interactive ways to collect feedback from employees and understand their immediate needs. Whether it's engineers or other departments that account for half of the total number of employees, personal workspace is the most important, but they all agree that there is a need for one-to-one discussion and cooperation with colleagues on a daily basis. For this reason, the design team carefully considered the design of personal workshop: the height of all desks can be adjusted, and employees can work on demand, sitting or standing. For those who need high privacy, their desks are preset to be higher than the standard height. Although the office floor has an open layout, their computer screen content is not easy to see. In addition, the width of the desk is wider than the standard. Colleagues can sit side by side and watch the same screen, which provides great convenience for the troubleshooting process of technicians. With a small number of private offices and a fully transparent design, it not only benefits the lighting of the floors, but also helps to build a transparent and collaborative corporate culture at Akamai.           
In addition to providing flexible and diversified office facilities, it is also an important part of the project to take care of the leisure and recreation needs of employees. Public areas in different corners of the building are places for people to chat or rest. In order to further strengthen the experience of employees, the design team breaks the tradition and realizes democratic space design. Instead of leaving the two floors of the most open roof for executives, the team decided to set up a canteen and public space here, which is open to the whole company. Every employee has the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Cambridge City and the whole Boston area. All spaces are motivated by activation and interpersonal communication, which is the same as the development of Akamai.

The new global headquarters of Akamai has consolidated the core position of enterprises in the field of Internet technology. The beautiful design is full of surprises. The designer's attention to details and clever use of colors create a distinctive image for the building and more appropriately respond to the real business needs of Akamai. Sasaki's interior design solutions provide employees and customers with flexible and pleasant space, simplify internal business processes, and encourage a wide range of collaboration. This change has prompted Akamai to continue to shine and connect with the world.