The headquarters of Draper Laboratory, a not-for-profit research and development company specializing in national security solutions, was built in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 1970s as a U-shaped building surrounding a windswept plaza. A multiphase renovation brought the aging headquarters, comprising more than 450,000 square feet, in line with Draper’s current brand strategy.
The first phase focused on a seventh-level Leadership Floor, relocating the majority of 126 executive staff members from enclosed private offices to open workstations with sit-stand desks. The executives modeled and tested the new way of working before staff followed. The next phase reimagined Floor 4C, including 10,600 square feet of laboratories and 11,040 square feet of workstation areas, meeting spaces, and two breakout kitchens.
The designers reinvented the headquarters’ entry, previously within its unused plaza, into a branded activation space encouraging the collaboration necessary for 21st-century discovery. The plaza, now enclosed by a 25,000-square-foot glass-and-steel atrium, rises the full height of the existing headquarters. Featuring an amphitheater and small meeting areas as learning spaces, one side of the atrium welcomes the public. The other side, which is secure, offers spaces that encourage collaboration—a cafeteria, coffee bar, informal seating areas, and a “Guru Bar” for tech help.