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Author Topic: 11/10/2010 Our new home: Ironbank!  (Read 9100 times)

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11/10/2010 Our new home: Ironbank!
« on: November 11, 2010, 07:54 PM »

Our new home: Ironbank!

http://www.smallworlds.com/?target=2010/11/10/our-new-home-ironbank/

November 10, 2010 7:17 PM

There are some big changes that have taken place here at SWHQ - we've just moved into some really great new offices and we thought you might like to take a look around!



[a view of Ironbank taken from the back, showcasing its rusted iron design feature]

The really cool, architectural award winning office we've just moved into goes by the name of Ironbank. It's a wonderful place for our team to work from, and as you can see from the photos it's a really great looking building, perfect for generating an ever greater number of creative ideas for SmallWorlds!  It's been both criticized and praised... some saying it looks like a bunch of rusting containers, or like "kindergarten day in a shipping yard"; others calling it one of the most complex and adventurous buildings on the Auckland scene today. We all love it, and we'd like to show you around!

Lets get Connected!


Why did we move?  Well it's simple. Due to the growth of our talented team we needed more space. Prior to our move, the team has been split between two (small) levels. We knew it would be good for everyone if we were connected in one larger space, and so the hunt was on.



[Photo shows main area with some of Management, Art Department, with Developers at the back. Operations and Customer Service are out to the right of the yellow coffee bar. Plants will be arriving soon to add a bit more life!]

Amazingly, our perfect new offices lay a mere 10 minutes walk away from where we launched SmallWorlds (beta) back in 2007!  As you can see from the photos below, they are a great new space where we can create your favorite virtual home on the web.  We've got a real appreciation for fine design here at SmallWorlds, and so it feels right to be housed in a building that reflects the value that we continually strive for.  



[The recreation area and main kitchen. We like to kick back with a bit of foosball and a few uber-competitive gaming sessions over a bite of lunch or when we've finished work for the day]

The Verdict...

Who was going to sit where in this huge new space? Everyone had all kinds of ideas as to where they wanted to sit in the weeks leading up to our move but in the end we held a desk ballot - basically all names went into a hat and when your name came out, you got to choose your seat. as you can imagine, it was nail-biting process.  But no bribes were used - that I discovered anyway!

I spoke to a few staff members to check in with them about how they're enjoying the new space - here's what they had to say:

Rob H - 3D Artist: "I'm loving the new office! It's great to be mixed in with all the other departments, it's a lot easier to collaborate and share ideas now. Another bonus with our new location is that we've got so many choices for food, so it's been fun exploring to see where the best places to eat are."

Ying K - Business Development: "I accidentally drove to Stable Lane this morning. :p. I got all the way to our old parking building before I realized!"

Daniel K - 3D Art Director:
"Great views over the city and knowing we work in one of coolest buildings in the world."

Nathan S - Developer: "I knew I had been blessed with good fortune when my name was drawn first from the desk ballot. My corner is perfect, and yes it was pure luck *wink*. Fantastic to finally have some natural light, I didn't release what a cave we were working in until we moved".

 

Vincent G - 3D Artist: "I spent at least 30 minutes unwinding 4 sets of Xmas lights that were put up in 2008 for our end-of-year/Xmas party when we did the pack-up...not fun! My favorite feature of the new office is the noticeably cooler temperature. My body temp. is higher than most, so this is a welcome change from the sauna-like heat we experienced during summer at our previous office. We considered introducing siestas!"

Ricky B - Developer:
"The large office here makes it possible for me to ride my chair across the room without bumping into anything!

It's so fun to ride across the room just to talk to another developer! And I also love how many food places there are near the office. There's so much food to choose from it gives me a headache every lunch time."

SmallWorlds & Ironbank... Award Winning NZ Creations!

We're enormously proud of what we've created with SmallWorlds; as we imagine are the architects who created Ironbank. To us, they're both fantastic examples of New Zealand design excellence, and we're really pleased to be here. It feels like a real meeting of 'friends'.

We trust you've enjoyed this small tour around our new offices!
« Last Edit: November 11, 2010, 08:05 PM by Happy »
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