eBay has received, what the company is calling, a new ‘front door’ for its San Jose headquarters, and oh, what a front door it is. Officially named Main Street, the addition to the San Jose campus is a 20,000-sf interactive hub and welcome center designed by ESI Design. The center is meant to exemplify eBay’s platform via large-scale, interactive displays and dynamic media installations.
At the heart of Main Street is a 15-foot touchscreen wall that allows employees and visitors to tap icons representing cars, handbags, and many other goods sold on eBay to see how many items in that category were sold in the last few hours or days.
10-foot-tall LED columns line the Main Street entry and supplement the touchscreen display. These columns frame the wall at the end of the corridor and sync with the content it is displaying to turn the entire space into a dynamic canvas. An additional two interactive touchscreens are located near reception.
One of the largest aspects of Main Street is the 7,150-sf Main Hall. Main Hall is where meetings, conferences, events, and company-wide broadcasts will now take place. Main Hall is equipped with a huge multi-screen display for presentations and webcasts. When not being used for a meeting, the screens will play colorful ambient movies and display eBay data to offer a glimpse into how people are using the eBay platform in real-time.
Main Street also includes three executive conference rooms; an outside deck and exterior patio; a coffee bar and other informal spaces for small employee gatherings; and The Gallery, a shop for employees and partners to browse and purchase merchandise.
Through its use of glass walls and open views, Main Street ensures the setting always feels open, inviting, and filled with natural light.
Click here to watch a video detailing eBay's new Main Street.
Photo courtesy of ESI Design
Photo courtesy of ESI Design
Photo courtesy of ESI Design
Photo courtesy of ESI Design
Photo courtesy of ESI Design
Photo courtesy of ESI Design
Photo courtesy of ESI Design
Related Stories
| Dec 17, 2010
Vietnam business center will combine office and residential space
The 300,000-sm VietinBank Business Center in Hanoi, Vietnam, designed by Foster + Partners, will have two commercial towers: the first, a 68-story, 362-meter office tower for the international headquarters of VietinBank; the second, a five-star hotel, spa, and serviced apartments. A seven-story podium with conference facilities, retail space, restaurants, and rooftop garden will connect the two towers. Eco-friendly features include using recycled heat from the center’s power plant to provide hot water, and installing water features and plants to improve indoor air quality. Turner Construction Co. is the general contractor.
| Dec 13, 2010
Energy efficiency No. 1 priority for commercial office tenants
Green building initiatives are a key influencer when tenants decide to sign a commercial real estate lease, according to a survey by GE Capital Real Estate. The survey, which was conducted over the past year and included more than 2,220 office tenants in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, the UK, Spain, and Japan, shows that energy efficiency remains the No. 1 priority in most countries. Also ranking near the top: waste reduction programs and indoor air.
| Dec 7, 2010
Hot rumor: Norman Foster designing Apple’s new campus
Lord Norman Foster, reportedly has been selected to design Apple’s new campus in Cupertino, Calif. If the news is true, Foster is a good match for Apple say experts. Foster built his celebrity by marrying big gestures to technological wizardry. And, unlike some starchitects, he has glommed onto the environmental revolution—something Apple has made a point of embracing, too.
| Dec 7, 2010
Product of the Week: Petersen Aluminum’s column covers used in IBM’S new offices
IBM’s new offices at Dulles Station West in Herndon, Va., utilized Petersen’s PAC-1000 F Flush Series column covers. The columns are within the office’s Mobility Area, which is designed for a mobile workforce looking for quick in-and-out work space. The majority of workspaces in the office are unassigned and intended to be used on a temporary basis.
| Nov 16, 2010
Calculating office building performance? Yep, there’s an app for that
123 Zero build is a free tool for calculating the performance of a market-ready carbon-neutral office building design. The app estimates the discounted payback for constructing a zero emissions office building in any U.S. location, including the investment needed for photovoltaics to offset annual carbon emissions, payback calculations, estimated first costs for a highly energy efficient building, photovoltaic costs, discount rates, and user-specified fuel escalation rates.
| Nov 3, 2010
Public works complex gets eco-friendly addition
The renovation and expansion of the public works operations facility in Wilmette, Ill., including a 5,000-sf addition that houses administrative and engineering offices, locker rooms, and a lunch room/meeting room, is seeking LEED Gold certification.
Office Buildings | Nov 3, 2010
11 tips for office renovation success
Only after you’ve done your homework on these critical success factors can you determine if you can produce a successful office renovation project for your client.
| Nov 2, 2010
11 Tips for Breathing New Life into Old Office Spaces
A slowdown in new construction has firms focusing on office reconstruction and interior renovations. Three experts from Hixson Architecture Engineering Interiors offer 11 tips for office renovation success. Tip #1: Check the landscaping.
| Oct 13, 2010
Editorial
The AEC industry shares a widespread obsession with the new. New is fresh. New is youthful. New is cool. But “old” or “slightly used” can be financially profitable and professionally rewarding, too.
| Oct 13, 2010
Modern office design accentuates skyline views
Intercontinental|Exchange, a Chicago-based financial firm, hired design/engineering firm Epstein to create a modern, new 31st-floor headquarters.
