New Twitter office fabulous design by Sara Morishige Williams
Today the Twitter team moved into their new office which has been designed by the super talented Sara Morishige Williams (@sara). She worked with an existing shell of a building in downtown San Francisco. I was able to get a sneak peek last week while she was working on it, and was excited to see the photos today. Sara shared some of her ideas: “I wanted to bring the outdoors in, while making the space playful yet useful and sustainable.”
Sara’s sense of play with color and whimsical elements, as well as her attention to detail had me walking through the spaces filled with joy and a curious sense of discovery for what was around the corner. The entry Twitter sign (above) was fabricated out of reclaimed barn wood and hot rolled steel (fabricated by Lundberg Design). Sara chose lovely paint colors that are also no-VOC. It was great to walk through the new space and have no “new” smell (that we now all know is actually toxins from off-gassing paints).
One of my favorite details is this wall (above) with bird decals that Sara made from a photo (below) she took in Nebraska when visiting the father of her husband and Twitter co-founder Evan Williams (@ev).
She is currently working on her own version of a “trophy wall” in the lobby which is framed work from various artist friends, some clever writings on Twitter, as well as work created by Twitter employees, and also Twitter user gifts and submittals. When completed, the frames will extend further and make the shape of two wings. This is such an interesting take on multiple voices making one larger form, much like Twitter’s users and Twitter itself.
In one of the conference rooms there is an amazingly luscious table designed by Sara and Mark Rogero with Concreteworks (@concreteworks). The base is reclaimed barn wood and the top is made of concrete with 40% fly ash and 100% recycled aggregates. The bird motif floats into this room embedded in the concrete.
Sara also made interesting choices in the furniture. There are Chiquita stools by Kenneth Cobonpue with a top of natural rattan poles on top of a cushion below. The stools are visually striking, and surprisingly comfortable as the poles sink softly when sat on. I love these. We had a few in our office as well.
Sara also mixed in some furniture classics, as well as some custom pieces made by a local furniture company called Furniture Envy. They have some pretty great prices. A good place to check out.
This “Tell Your Stories Here” neon sign is by Mary Conrad (@M_Ry). By the way, Mary currently has a show at Michael Rosenthall Gallery. The paint behind the sign is one of the “wallpapers” you can choose on your twitter account.
There are very cool “live edge” wood hooks in the lobby by John at Live Wire Farm and also a sweet touch with pillows on everyone’s chair when they came to the office today by Throwboy (@throwboy).
And how many offices have their own DJ booth? I am so jealous.
There are wonderful details throughout the office that are old objects now given a new life by Sara like these deer that Sara found and painted.
The new Twitter office space is sustainable design with surprising twists. Sara is a unique and talented designer and I look forward to seeing much more from her in the years ahead.
Photos from Flickr pages of Twitter, ryansking as well as twitpics from @caroline, @wfarner, @robey and @jennadawn.
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