Tech giant NVIDIA has made a name for themselves by tackling technological challenges — in industries from gaming to healthcare to transportation — that otherwise can’t be solved.
NVIDIA employs over 20,000 people globally, with more than 50 offices worldwide, and their headquarters in Silicon Valley, they have a fleet of over 350 Framery pods. A long-time Framery customer, the 2007 Forbes’ Company of the Year puts a lot of thought and resources into workplace research and development.
A new office & an empty canvas
NVIDIA’s massive Bay Area headquarters are made up of two buildings that combine for over 115,000m2 — separated from each other by a 1.6 hectare garden. The newest addition to their headquarters, a 70,000m2 building named Voyager, features living green walls, a solar panel-lined canopy, a spacious amphitheater, and elevated outdoor “birds nests” where employees can meet to socialize and work.
During the pandemic, NVIDIA, like so many companies around the world, was forced to ask their employees to work from home, leaving their massive new office devoid and empty. Now, as workers begin to repopulate the building, Raymond Chan, NVIDIA’s Director of Global Workplace Design & Strategy, expects there to be increased collaboration, vibrancy, and energy at the campus.
A working vision of the future
Even with the opportunity to work remotely, Chan suspects that employees will want to come back to the office to experience richer interaction with colleagues, and to take advantage of the plentiful amenities. But Chan also recognizes that remote work and office work will become more integrated than ever before, as there will always be a number of employees who will join remotely. Always one to explore boundaries, Chan recognized the opportunity to create a hybrid working environment to accommodate this new type of work.
NVIDIA’s vision for meetings in this new working environment is that of digital equity. Chan’s goal is to create a unified meeting experience — whether you’re at the workplace, or joining remotely. And he chose Framery to help create the ultimate hybrid meeting spaces. “Framery pods will be spaces for collaboration and co-creation. People will meet in them to build on ideas,” says Chan.
An experimental comparison
NVIDIA wants to test how their employees choose to do their work in a hybrid office environment. They began by removing all video conferencing equipment from meeting rooms, forcing everyone to join virtual meetings from their personal devices. They then set up hybrid meeting spaces by equipping Framery 2Q Huddle office pods with the competing videoconferencing solutions.
With the newly-designated hybrid workspaces, NVIDIA’s large meeting spaces are now intended to be used mainly for collaboration — a radical change from how they were used in the past. Conference rooms are now to be used for brainstorming and whiteboarding — instead of staring at a large display. They have also dedicated a Framery 2Q Lounge for this type of use — as it’s a perfect space for more informal sessions where the best ideas tend to surface.
We still have to wait to learn how these changes will affect the workflow at NVIDIA. With attendance still low, it is still unclear how this way of working and meeting will be received. But the bold initiative by NVIDIA is sure to make waves in their offices across the world.
Staying Flexible Is Here To Stay
If the past few years has taught us anything, it’s that there is no such thing as a “new normal”. Companies must be prepared to adapt, pivot, and reshape their understanding if they hope to survive. At Framery, we pride ourselves on our ability to stay flexible, and grow in new directions. That’s why partnerships like these are so valuable to our success as a company.
Our work has always been driven by innovative thinking, supported by thorough research, and crafted with great design. But creating the world’s first office pod was only the beginning for us. In addition to establishing new partnerships with industry-leading companies, we are exploring and developing our own cutting-edge technologies to digitize the workplace, and futureproof the industry we pioneered.
We revolutionized the workplace with our soundproof solutions for noisy offices. Stay tuned to see what’s next.
