The Bloomberg Experience

Workplace design has long been on the verge of adapting a twenty-first-century model—even before the millennium rolled around. The dot-com boom of the 1990s dramatized the energy of the electronic workplace then went bust. But in those heady days we learned that instant, global, and seamless communication was becoming a reality. However, this new web of connections remains for many a holy grail, always somewhat out of reach because of technical glitches or human frailty.

After visiting the new Bloomberg headquarters in New York, we knew immediately that it represented the “electronic office” on a large and dazzling scale. Here finally was that wireless dream. As we discovered more about the space and how teams of designers worked together to create a complex and coherent whole, it became obvious that the Bloomberg project merited an in-depth look as part of our ongoing quest to show the collaborative nature of great design.