The interior design of the new headquarters of Techland in Wrocław was a challenge not only due to its scale or modern approach to creating work spaces, not so common on the Polish market, but above all because its users are aware of their needs, very demanding and have been involved in the process from start to finish.
Techland is among the Polish companies which successfully operate on the international video games market. It is here that such world bestsellers as Call Juarez, Dying Light and Dead Island were created. In spring this year, the company’s Wrocław headquarters moved to a new location – offices with an area of over 8,000 sq m. m2. They were designed by Magdalena Kozak in cooperation with Daniel Błaszczyk, and the equipment was provided by Bakata Design.
LIKE THE SILICONE VALLEY
What were the investor’s expectations? Aleksandra Marchewka, a member of Techland’s management board, does not hide the fact that the company was very ambitious in creating a new workplace for its team of over 300 people. “There is only one way to define our expectations – extremely high. We set the bar at the level of the Silicon Valley. We wanted to create something extraordinary, unique, exceptional, and at the same time extremely pragmatic and ergonomic. We focused on the convenience of our employees, because we know that when they spend more than 8-9 hours at work, they treat this place like their second home. So we wanted to give them the comfort of a house interior on the one hand, and an optimal place to work on the other. The gaming industry is, one could say, two opposite poles – creativity, creation, but also putting these ideas into practice and giving them the possibility of existence. It is conceptual work and programming, creation and monotonous implementation work. For this reason, we had to provide a space that was both inspiring and supporting the generation of new ideas, but we also wanted it to be a place where everyone would simply be comfortable. ”
WORK AND RELAXATION
The new office was a big and anticipated change for Techland: the dynamically growing team needed a much larger, high-end space. Work zones are primarily open spaces with clearly marked zones containing soft furniture. The regular arrangement of the carpet with wide gray stripes features irregular islands of soft carpeting with navy blue modular sofas by the Italian brand Milani, as well as Mickey stools and Cube pouffes. Each “soft” zone is equipped with an in-built TV set and a whiteboard for displaying and discussing game development progress.
Larger meetings can be held in the 22 conference rooms. The work zone is dominated by concrete and subdued colors that favor concentration. On the other hand, the communication routes connecting the building wings and the entertainment rooms are full of colors. We can find designer furniture with interesting forms, swings, hammocks, baggy pouffes, and floral graphics on the walls. Techland employees can choose between several types of relaxation: there is a gym, where you can release some steam on a punching bag or a treadmill. The nap room is an interior with a comfortable bed and deckchairs, resembling a green, secluded forest. In the room next to the gym you can meet for a mini-golf game or relax in a massage chair. In the communication spaces, there are gaming machines, TV and consoles, with arcade and pinball game machines located in the corners. Finally, you can enjoy treatments offered in the massage parlor or make an appointment with the barber. Even a visit to the company’s canteen is fun: you can descend there on a special slide for adults.
GAMES IN THE FOREGROUND
Does the office of one of the most famous Polish game development companies require any special solutions resulting from the specificity of the industry? First of all, specific test rooms. One, located on the ground floor of the office building, allows for inviting people from the outside to game trials: young people, fans and journalists. The gaming room on the first floor is intended for professional testers from Techland. There are 4 stations for players, poufs with Siti backrests from VANK, sofas, and even a small kitchenette – the room is specially soundproofed to enable sound checks. Another characteristic space is the huge mock-up room located on the ground floor. Here you can scan people and objects of all sizes – even cars! This place resembles a TV studio in many ways, but it can also be used as a conference or entertainment venue. An electrically foldable grandstand, such as in sports venues, allows you to quickly change its character. The fact that we are at the headquarters of one of the most respected game developers is also clearly communicated by the impressive reception desk – with a characteristic red pixel motif, a water cascade on one wall and a rich gallery of industry awards on the other.
IN SILENCE AND GOOD LIGHT
Creating games also requires an appropriate arrangement of work zones. There are few offices where so many employees use as many as three huge monitors. Adjustable arms for CBS monitors facilitate using this huge amount of hardware, which frees up space on Maro desks and allows each employee to precisely set their monitors in the optimal position. There are also monitors in the zones devoted to meetings – after all, their subject is the analysis of subsequent fragments of animations or graphics. Built into soft walls, they allow you to evaluate projects in comfortable conditions and not disturb the work of others – especially with noise. A high level of acoustic comfort was one of the key requirements in the design of Techland’s office – it was facilitated by carpets with high acoustic parameters and Ecophon acoustic ceilings, while noisy zones with public printers were muted with soft acoustic panels. Acoustic panels also separate individual workstations, and phone calls can be made in Space S cabins from Mute Design.
Another priority was evenly diffused lighting which would not cause screen reflections and color distortions. Interestingly, the lighting installation uses the DALI dimming system to adjust the light intensity to the needs of users.
NEW QUALITY
As Magdalena Kozak says, Techland employees were very deeply involved in the year-long process of establishing their new office. “I had many meetings with representatives of various groups of employees: we talked about how they use the equipment, what their work day looks like, what they need to work efficiently and creatively. I can say that all Techland employees participated in the selection of the furniture. Model workstations were created, consisting of desks with monitor holders, and ergonomic chairs from top companies were tested by future users for months. Ultimately, the Mirra 2 armchairs by Herman Miller, supplied by Bakata Design, turned out to be unbeatable. Working with recipients who are so extremely aware and demanding both in terms of comfort and ergonomics as well as aesthetics (many of them are graphic designers and designers, graduates of art and design universities) is not easy, but it gives great satisfaction if you manage to fulfill their expectations. I believe that by taking into account their voices and opinions, we have managed to create a new quality of workspace in Techland’s office.”
Contact for media
Wanda Modzelewska, tel. 507149942, e-mail: wmodzelewska@gmail.com
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