Dropbox

Designing for the Senses

The Dropbox headquarters offers a variety of sensory spaces that inspire and nurture different workstyles.

Dropbox is the leading online file-hosting service in the country. When approaching its new headquarters, Dropbox set aspirational goals, seeking a workplace that would “unleash creative energy” for a diverse workforce and foster connection, curiosity, and creativity.

Completed in 2020, the 735,000 square-foot headquarters resolves those aspirational goals with a sensory-inspired design that allows Dropbox to flex interior spaces as their business evolves, continuously reimagining how to provide an armature for the creative process and support a productive, healthy workstyle.

Flexible Workspaces

The light-filled open floor plan and rooftop gardens frame panoramic views of the cityscape and San Francisco Bay. Floors are subdivided into a series of flexible neighborhoods featuring workspaces for up to 40 people, various-sized conference rooms, single-occupancy work rooms, an open meeting area, and clustered conversational seating. Flexible wall systems and movable furniture allow a variety of desk and seating configurations for heads-down work, collaboration, group meetings, or one-on-one dialogue.

Neutral finishes—white ceilings, cork partitions, semi-transparent screens, indirect lighting, glass-front conference rooms, natural light—elevate the quality of the workspaces, providing a visually clean setting for creative work.

Sensory Experiences

Community spaces, allowing team members to move throughout all four sectors for different sensory, social, or business experiences. The main lobby features a metal-mesh pillowed ceiling, terrazzo floors, abundant plantings, conversational seating, and curved stair clad in mirrored steel.

Beyond the lobby, each floor offers a variety of spaces supporting a holistic approach to work/life balance, collaboration, and wellness. Community spaces include full service restaurant and commissary kitchen, coffee cafe, dedicated R&D space, mother’s room, family lounge, gym, meditation room, yoga room, library, exhibit space, multi-function event space, maker space, and game room. Each space reflects a unique sensory aesthetic, with finishes, furnishings, lighting, and acoustics enhancing the activity or experience within.

Tenant Fit-Out Team

Developer: Kilroy Realty Corporation
Design Architect/Programmer: Johnston Marklee
Architect-of-Record: HGA