A small startup in Seattle made a big change last summer.
In May of 2015, PicMonkey and its 32 employees moved from their traditional office to an open space with natural light, dry-erase writable walls, and views of the city in three directions. And so far? They seem to be loving it.
PicMonkey also wanted the news space to embody the company ethos of fun, energy, and creativity. To that end, they commissioned a central sculpture of a barrel of monkeys climbing the ceiling by artist Troy Gua, got conference tables that could be converted to ping pong tables, and made sure employees had a space set aside for quiet meditation.
What is the address of the project?
600 Stewart St., 19th floor, Seattle, WA 98101, on the top floor of the Plaza 600 building in downtown Seattle.
Who was the building architect?
Who was the interior architect/designer?
Eric Cobb
When was the project completed?
May 2015
What is the total square footage?
Approximately 5,000 square feet.
What is the square footage per person?
Approximately 155 sf/person.
How many total employees are there and what’s the daily population?
32 total employees.
What is the location’s proximity to public transportation and other amenities?
Our office is located near the heart of Downtown Seattle’s public transportation hub, by the Seattle Monorail, the Link Light Rail, the South Lake Union Streetcar and many King/Pierce County Transit bus lines.
A Pronto! Cycle Share station (for rental bikes) is also located in front of our building.
Which furniture brands/dealers were used? Please touch upon any notable products, how they were used, and if they solved a specific problem.
Office chairs: Knoll
Office tables: Door panels that have been repurposed
Furniture: Purchased from Inform Interiors in Seattle
Computer stands: Ergotron
Is there a mobile work or work-from-home policy or are most of the employees there all day every day?
Our employees work on-site for the most part, but since we are a startup, there is some flexibility to work from home.
What percentage of the space is unassigned?
PicMonkey is such a dynamic company that no space goes unused, but we certainly still have room to grow.
How is the company’s brand reflected in the space?
The office features custom artwork from Troy Gua, including a barrel of monkeys climbing up to the ceiling. The office also has unique rooms like a “time travel pod” where employees can sleep or meditate.
Conference tables throughout the space can be converted to table tennis and half of the walls are dry erase writable; PicMonkey’s new office ties back to the company’s values of fun, energy and creativity.
What is the most unique feature about the new space?
The space has several unique features: 50 percent of our wall space is dry erase writable, the office offers incredible views of Downtown Seattle in three directions, including the Space Needle on the north side, and the space has a newly built Nabisco Graham Cracker Box-inspired privacy room.
What was the hardest aspect of change for people in moving from the former space?
The change of routine (i.e. changing the route of your morning commute, finding your new favorite spots), and adjusting to new rhythm of the space. For example: teams are now more spread out, instead of everyone sitting together.
Please talk about any other notable aspects of the project that make it unique.
PicMonkey’s office faces south, west, and north with tall glass windows for some of Seattle’s most of iconic views, including the Space Needle. A vintage NYC phone booth with a working 1940s phone can be seen in the main room, and a family room gives visitors a place to wait or stay in the office.
This is a good opportunity for start ups to see that your firm doesn’t have to be slick glass and chrome to be successful. You should investigate Swift Space Inc.