design matters

The WaMu Center in Seattle was designed with purpose. This info comes from the The Seattle Times (3.10.06)

"The idea was, if we could have most of the employees in one location, I could drive the culture I wanted — a common culture,"
said chief executive Kerry Killinger.

The building is grouped into clusters, with every three floors tied together by large staircases, a common color scheme and a shared eating area with more space, nicer furniture and better views than many employees now have in their break rooms.

For an even more inviting lunch experience, the 16th and 17th floors will have a buffet-style dining room and a lounge with indoor and outdoor fireplaces. A 20,000-square-foot rooftop patio is large enough for people to take short walks along footpaths.

Callison Architecture designed WaMu Center's interior, and its partners said the building's mix of open and closed spaces has become popular with companies looking to improve employees' productivity.

Executive spaces are dubbed "villas." Pink noise airs in the halls and are short bursts tuned to a frequency that fills in the gaps around the human voice. Three-story clusters where groups work together are "neighborhoods."

sounds pretty cool to me. :)