Microsoft New England Research & Development Center (NERD)
Cambridge, MA
Linking 19 floors and 2,000 employees along one path keeps Akamai connected so they can keep the world online
Akamai Technologies Global Headquarters
Akamai’s vision for their new headquarters is a singular and integrated campus, connecting all departments and groups seamlessly and thoughtfully
Akamai Technologies, one of the world’s leading companies in the Content Delivery Network field, reinvented themselves with their new global headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Formerly occupying space in six different buildings, the fastest growing tech hub in the country, Akamai faced challenges with collaboration, innovation, and ideation; all behaviors critical to staying at the forefront of their industry. Consolidating their offices helped minimize disruption and missed opportunities while maximizing the employee and client experience.
The AkaMile
The new 19-story, 480,000 square-foot design strategically organizes all collaborative spaces around a continuous path throughout the entire building. The path—a mile-long experience affectionately referred to as the “AkaMile”— begins in the lobby at street level, greeting customers and employees with its bold displays and warm, welcoming tones. The AkaMile links collaborative work space with destinations like libraries, cafés, game rooms, and a cafeteria, separating the quiet, focused work from the noise. A series of interconnecting stairs tie the floors together, promoting uninterrupted circulation through the entire building and encouraging employees to get away from their desks and engage with one another.
The entry is defined by bold scuptural form, color and light.
A pattern of intersecting lines traverses each floor, growing more concentrated in collaboration spaces and more sparse near quiet work stations
Connecting each of the buildings 19 floors is a mile-long continuous path, known as the AkaMile, encouraging travel from one floor to the next. Each floor is coded with a specific color ranging from orange to blue—Akamai’s brand colors—as a wayfinding tool
Each line in the pattern is impacted by the previously drawn line, adapting as the pattern evolves to achieve the desirable pattern density
The lines connect to various Akamai locations throughout the world, conceptually connecting satellite offices to Akamai’s global hub in Kendall Square
The AkaMile purposefully weaves its way through the remainder of office floors in a series of interconnecting stairs
This uninterrupted route allows for both horizontal connections to other employees on the floor, but also vertical connections to those on floors above and below
The AkaMile runs through the common areas of each floor, facilitating interaction throughout the office
The AkaMile purposefully weaves its way through the remainder of office floors in a series of interconnecting stairs
This uninterrupted route allows for both horizontal connections to other employees on the floor, but also vertical connections to those on floors above and below
The AkaMile runs through the common areas of each floor, facilitating interaction throughout the office
The design team drew inspiration from the idea of network connectivity to tie the office space together
Program destinations distributed across the floors attract people throughout the building, encouraging constant movement and a change in environs
The AkaMile extends the visual reach of a floor and eliminates the barrier caused by getting in an elevator
The exterior of the AkaMile is vibrantly colored across all floors, giving a clear indication of where to go to connect with co-workers
Alternative workplaces located in some of the best real estate in the building give every employee the opportunity to get a change of scenery and connect with their coworkers
All of the 300+ meeting rooms are video equipped to maximize the ability to work as global teams
There is always a clear transition between the collaborative space of the AkaMile and the focus space of the individual work areas
While there are primary food destinations strategically located in the building, each floor has a dedicated pantry for everyday use
Nooks under the stairs are transformed into areas of respite, equipped with lounge chairs and incredible views of the city
There is always a clear transition between the collaborative space of the AkaMile and the focus space of the individual work areas
While there are primary food destinations strategically located in the building, each floor has a dedicated pantry for everyday use
Nooks under the stairs are transformed into areas of respite, equipped with lounge chairs and incredible views of the city
The gradient of colors is visible from the outside, reinforcing Akamai’s identity to the public
Varied destinations encourage movement throughout the office
Graphic Design
In addition to the colors along the Akamile that facilitate intuitive wayfinding throughout the building, Sasaki designed signage and graphics to provide direction, create a sense of place, and reflect the company’s identity.
The graphics throughout the space highlight three aspects of company culture that Akamai is particularly proud of: their values, their global presence, and the notion of many parts coming together to create something greater. Their values and the idea of collectivism appear in wall graphics that incorporate all the floor colors and are made of a variety of materials. Their global presence is celebrated in a map made of keyboard keys and a chalk wall featuring languages their employees speak. Overall, the graphics throughout the building blend the visual language of Akamai’s brand and the visual language of the architecture, resulting in a unique experience.
Sasaki collaborated with artist Erik Jensen on a world map showcasing Akamai’s global offices, which are represented by hand-dyed keys in Akamai’s brand colors. It doubles as a word search; quotes about Akamai’s history are spelled out with the keys. To cover this 18×9’ wall, 40,000 keys (or 460 keyboards) were used.
Wall graphics throughout the building display Akamai’s values. This graphic, located on the top floor in the cafeteria at the end of the Akamile, features all of the values in one place, summarizing the graphic experience throughout the building.
Akamai’s value “inclusion” is represented on the Akamile by including every color of the Akamile on the inside of the dimensional letters. This represents not only the floor colors, but the people who work on those floors. No matter who you are or what floor you work on, you are included in Akamai’s company culture.
Engagement
At the start of the project, Akamai’s real estate group put out a call to the entire Cambridge workforce asking for people who wanted to be involved in the design process. The “AkaChamps” met with the design team on a bi-monthly basis, starting with the early visioning sessions where they were able to have their voices heard and their perspectives incorporated into the project’s mission. In the end, Akamai’s new headquarters represents the best of their employees’ hopes and dreams.
The AkaMile arranges many of Akamai’s customer service programs around the first few client reception floors
Informal and alternative working spaces are sprinkled throughout the AkaMile, allowing employees the opportunity to take in a change of scenery
Three larger pantries feature expanded beverage offerings as well as grab n’ go food service. Each has their own unique identity.
Quiet, isolated libraries offer a respite for those looking to escape the open office for more intense concentration
The placement of collaborative space keeps employees moving between different floors
Meeting spaces vary for traditional formal conference rooms to informal living room-like spaces
WELL
As Akamai’s focus was on the health of its employees, the company chose to pursue a robust WELL certification effort. WELL targeted several aspects of the employee experience as well as good sustainable design principles: access to daylight and views by minimizing walls at the perimeter and pushing employee spaces toward the exterior walls; controllability of systems to maximize thermal and visual comfort; encouragement of movement through the inclusion of communicating stairs and distribution of amenities; inclusion of amenities spaces that encourage activity, rest and variety; and a focus on healthy food offerings throughout the coffee bars, grab and go areas and employee cafeteria. In May 2023, the project has achieved WELL Platinum, and at the time of it’s certification, was the largest WELL Platinum TI project in the United States.
The kitchens feature a colorful and textured material palette
The light, airy “arena” on the eighth floor is a setting devoted to lively games of ping pong and pool
A video game room, dubbed the “lair,” invites employees with darker finishes, a sectional sofa, high wingback chairs, and card tables
The employee cafeteria was located at the top of the building in the area with best views of the city. Giving this prime real estate to everyone is a hallmark of Akamai’s dedication to its employees’ experience. The space is also meant to serve as a place for everyday work and larger scale events and presentations.
The AkaMile’s colors clearly communicate where collaboration and socialization occur, and where heads down time is meant to happen
By pulling the collaborative environments into a specifically and centrally designed zone, individual open desks are allowed to remain quiet and distraction free
The design creates a continuous loop, housing spaces that support knowledge sharing, information gathering, brainstorming, and invention
The Network Operations Command Center boasts a 100-foot-long digital wall broadcasting livetime data from around the world
The new headquarters positions Akamai in the public eye as a global leader in the content delivery network field
For more information contact Victor Vizgaitis.
