It’s no Apple spaceship, but the huge building, which boasts a gymnasium and a pool hall, and has conference rooms on every floor, is a bold statement of the company’s growth and plans for expansion.
If the purpose of the building was to lift employee morale, it couldn’t have come at a better time. The professional social network saw its shares fall 40 percent last month, reducing its market capitalization by $10 billion. Despite beating analysts’ expectations with its fourth quarter earnings of $820 million, the company’s shares saw their worst daily performance since LinkedIn went public in 2011.
The effect of this bad news, however, will likely be softened when its workers realize that an entire floor in their new office has been dedicated to dining. Each floor of the new location also has its own San Francisco-related theme, from references to famous residents to movies filmed in the city. In an unorthodox move, the ground floor of the new location will be open to everyone. The area is reportedly filled with chairs and tables, and is intended as a public space, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.
Elaborating upon the specifics of the building’s themed floors, LinkedIn’s corporate communications team member May Chow said: “the theme of the 17th floor is S.F. landmarks with rooms named Transamerica and Bay Bridge, the 16th floor is S.F. music venues with conference rooms named Fillmore and Warfield, and the 15th floor is movies filmed in S.F. with conference rooms named Bullitt and Mrs. Doubtfire.” Additionally, Chow states the company also hired local Bay Area artists (including Sam Rodriguez and Shane Heath) to create original works, which are featured on the ceilings of the lobby areas on each floor.
The company is also hoping the move will aid it in attracting talent from its Bay Area locale, to help the firm stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other tech firms also housed in skyscrapers, including Yelp and Salesforce.
It certainly has the space to house more workers. Despite its plan to gradually fill the glass-fronted building with employees from its former offices in the city’s Financial District and South of Market, only 18 of the skyscraper’s 26 floors will be in use. Each story also contains designated quiet areas, kitchen areas, and floor-to-ceiling whiteboard walls (like Facebook, the company is keen on workers’ expressing themselves openly, and in a manner that in fact harkens back to older fashions).
Revealing its optimism, LinkedIn believes it will have the entire space filled up by next year. We have reached out to the company for pictures of its new location, and stay tuned for an update featuring those images.
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