We faced contract battles, a million different opinions, and scariest of all, New York City building permit laws in our quest for a new Chartbeat workspace. Luckily we’re nearly there – and we’re all thrilled about the first-ever home of our very own (thanks Betaworks, for being so generous all these years!) Here’s what we’re most looking forward to in our new Chartbeat office.
In last week’s post we mentioned that Chartbeat is just weeks away from moving into our new space in Union Square. This move has been in the works for a long time, and our new office is the result of the combined efforts of architects, contractors, a great construction team, and two fantastic Chartladies, Kelli and Antonia, our Base Camp Manager and Head of Ops, respectively.
The new space is a whole lot bigger than our temporary, “cozy” office is, and promises to accommodate our growing team. We’re looking forward to hosting many events (happy hour, anyone?), as well as having people come work and play with us too – for hack weeks, collaboration projects, or just to borrow a desk for a bit. We’re all pretty psyched for more meeting rooms, a bigger fridge (or even the possibility of two big fridges?!?), and being steps away from a gazillion public transport options.
To give you a sneak preview of our new space, I asked Kelli and Antonia (pictured above), a few questions about what we can expect from the new digs.
Describe the new Chartbeat work space in three words:
Kelli: Bright. Collaborative. Energizing.
Antonia: Grown-up. Liberating. The next big thing to hit Union Square…does that count as more than 3 words?
What feature or design element are you most excited about?
Kelli: The coffee station! We’re upgrading from our little Keurig (RIP) to a major set up – including cold brewed iced coffee in the fridge.
Antonia: I’m pumped to be in a space in which I can write on, project on or tack onto every surface (many of the walls will be covered in writeable or magnetic paint). A beer fridge. The best couch ever.
What were the biggest challenges when it came to designing and constructing the space?
Kelli: Finding the balance between work and play, and trying to scale for a growing company.
Antonia: We were seriously delayed by permit issues and then by Sandy, both of which were out of our control. We want an open space and a space where people can work collaboratively, but we also need a place where we can find quiet/zen time to focus and crank on work — it’s a hard balance to strike.
Where did you draw inspiration from when it came to envisioning the new space?
Kelli: The Chartteam filled my inbox with incredible ideas, I also spent hours perusing office snapshots, plus The Next Web’s Awesome Offices and Business Insider Office Tours for some serious design inspiration.
Antonia: The team. We had wish lists, team meetings with the architects, emails from team members with photos of other offices, design ideas, etc. Our inspiration was basically a Pinterest board of everyone’s visions for their ideal working spaces.
What were the most ridiculous requests for the new office that you received?
Kelli: Ninja Warrior Training Equipment–I’m not exactly sure what that even is. And I believe on my first day at Chartbeat, Tony requested a life-size Connect Four board–an interesting request from a CEO.
Antonia: A moving rock wall ( it’s sort of an upwards treadmill), which I am very seriously considering.
Stay tuned for more updates about our move, and be sure to stop by when we’re settled in.