Plywood diner booths are upholstered in orange Kvadrat fabric. Photograph: Mark Cocksedge
Words by Rebecca Hoh-Hale
Following the fit out for the Shoreditch flagship home for its EMEA staff in London, softwaare giant Adobe has once again teamed up with architect Gensler to update its smaller but perfectly formed Dublin customer care centre. Though on paper it is not so all-singing all-dancing – it doesn’t have the cachet or edgy postcode and has been bestowed with a more modest budget – the project is representative of the brand’s core values in a different way. For a brand started in founder John Warnock’s California garage in 1982, with a logo designed by his graphic designer wife, Adobe holds the idea of humble beginnings close to its heart and this refreshed fit out for the Dublin office brings those homely, grassroots values back.
“Dublin had always been a challenge for Adobe, in terms of aligning it with the much celebrated culture of the brand,” explains Becky Spenceley, associate at Gensler, citing its open workspaces that facilitate community, innovation, wellbeing and playfulness.
“At the end of the day, this is the company’s call centre: people are sitting at their desks, only speaking to the person on the other end of the phone or email chat for the most part. It had more of an old-school office vibe, in terms of how people interacted with both each other and their employer, as well the interior design.We’ve been back a few times since completion and on speaking to the management team there it really has been a surprise success story for Adobe, that has facilitated a very real and significant, improved shift in culture for the office.”
Adobe bought the new 1,400sq m space to expand its growing team of over 100 customer care staff and saw this as a chance to create a workspace more in line with the benchmark set by its collaborations with Gensler.
The office deploys a bright, variegated colour scheme. Photograph: Mark Cockse
