Nokia
Mountain View, Calif.
Gensler

Virtual business model is a matrix for serendipitous meetings 

© Chris Barrett/Hedrich Blessing

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

Nokia IPRG is a company that values global cultures created from e-business. The design of the firm?s Silicon Valley offices is a direct response to the strategic business objectives of Nokia, as well as the firm?s corporate culture, which expressed a desire for local and community, both locally and globally.

The campus consists of two, two-story 60,000-square-foot office buildings that contain workplace areas, labs, and specialty support. To encourage informality, the building?s columns, beams, and perimeter walls, and the mechanical, electrical, and communications systems are exposed, left raw and unpainted, revealing the buildings? inner mechanisms, which restates the client?s role as "plumbers of the Internet." Concrete flooring, fiberglass, masonite, and wood are the primary construction materials utilized, materials that are simple and utilized for their intrinsic, unfinished beauty. This emphasis on raw materials without wasteful finishes supports Nokia?s commitment to sustainability.

The office plan is arranged as "tunnel and pipes," which lead to the open office work areas and meeting rooms. Copy machine, coffee areas, and mail centers are located along these major circulation zones encouraging informal gathering and idea swapping. Conference rooms are clustered in the rotunda at the center of the buildings and the open office areas have impromptu team spaces, defined by beams that support white boards and a cork wall. 

Formal name of building:
Nokia Offices

Location:
Mountain View, Calif.

Gross square footage: 
130,000 square feet

Owner:
Nokia IPRG

Architect's firm: 
Gensler
600 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
415/433-3700
415/627-3737 fax
www.gensler.com