After two years of construction, NVIDIA's new smart headquarters is on track to complete later this year. We managed to get up-close to check out the basic building blocks within this 500,000 sq-ft office space that was designed with NVIDIA's own iRay software to maximize sunlight utility. This image is a rendering of the new campus that CEO Jen-Hsun Huang approved from architect firm Gensler.
Codenamed Endeavor, NVIDIA’s new campus is a two-story building for 2,500 employees.
The cost of the project is US$370 million dollars and it’s on time to complete in September and perhaps be ready for occupancy by November 2017.
The new campus is situated right across the existing 12-building, one-million sq-ft campus. Its story began in 2008 when NVIDIA first acquired this 24-acre parcel of land as pictured.
Design of the new campus began as early as 2010 when NVIDIA was interviewing potential design and architectural firms and finally settled for Gensler.
Actual construction started later as the project was put on hold temporarily till the company found the right time to restart the project five years ago
The property is actually master planned for a second 500,000 sq-ft building, but there is currently no timetable for that construction.
NVIDIA’s CEO wanted the new building design to represent the company without actually saying much. Since 3 points in space is the basic building block of computer graphics – a polygon – he was enamored by this idea and accepted the triangle shape that is the simplest form of a polygon.
On another note, the triangle or diamond shape is the most commonly sighted shape for UFOs.
According to Gensler, the sculptural roof is a major highlight of the new building, which helped create large, vaulted spaces inside the building along with more intimate areas where private, focused work occurs.
The design of the campus is best experienced from a high vantage point, so check out NVIDIA's drone footage to see more of these amazing shots.
While attending NVIDIA’s GTC 2017 conference, the press were given special clearance to visit the new campus to check out how it’s shaping up. I donned a hard hat, safety goggles, covered shoes and a visibility vest before entering the premises.
This facing of the building is one of the three flat corners of the structure. It will be a while longer before the landscaping is done.
Another view of the external façade before we proceed inside.
Behold, the vast interior space with an open, sweeping environment.
Another vital design aspect that’s visible here are the 245 triangular skylights on the roof that bring ample diffused daylight into the building, creating an uplifting work environment.
Space within the building is relatively uninterrupted because the 72-foot distance between the columns is made possible by the lightweight roof and short building height that allow the columns to be spaced out further than usual (usually under 40 feet for multi-story buildings).
The core of the building has all the conference rooms, pantries, meeting spaces and more to help spark conversations and ideas between different departments. The outer rim (as seen here) consists of the workspaces. The natural light that comes through the office make it a conducive and pleasant environment and has been carefully modeled using NVIDIA's iRay to ensure the right interior lux levels are maintained at all times.
Here’s a look at one of the A/V rooms that’s under preparation. Notice the in-wall speaker and TV screen receptacles?
Looking back the core of the building once more. Lifts are limited in this office space and oversized platforms replace stairways as vertical connectors and serve to stage impromptu meetings and interactions – exactly what NVIDIA wants to promote in this new building.
The new cafeteria in the works.
A stepped platform overlooks the cafeteria for casual catch-up over food and music in the background.
At the very center of the building is a stairwell that connects all the floors. When completed, employees can peer out to the massive central skylight that’s not tinted or colored – that means you can actually see the sky and cloud patterns. At this point of time, the stairwell still needs much work and the central skylight isn’t ready to impress us - yet.
Overlooking the first floor from the floor above.
The second floor houses the bulk of the working spaces and to accompany them are several sound isolated cubicles scattered around the floor for making personal and sensitive calls to reduce noise pollution.
While the massive server rooms will still stay on at the existing campus, the new building will still host a workshop and R&D area at the center of the 2nd floor for the respective engineers and employees to tinker around. Most of the power and data points are channeled to this room so that cost is controlled, is easier to maintain, service and facilitate upgrades when required.
Another view of the 2nd floor workspace area. You can see there's lots of natural light within the building and we can't wait for the interior decor and furniture to breathe more character to the campus.