Gyár

Tenant: Gyár post-production studio
Tenant profile: media
Office building: Goldberger-factory
Number of employees: ~25
Size: ~1200 m2
Interior design: Norbert Bier, Dániel Gazsy and Gergő Gazsy 

After having visited Gyár (which means, literally: factory), we decided we will be create a best-of-officespotting list, as there are a few offices that surpass anything we’ve seen, both in their mood and aesthetics. This unusual location is the one-time Goldberger Textile Factory in Óbuda (III. district). This is another building where nobody would expect there to be offices. 

We cannot give an account of Gyár and be too superlative. Yes, yes, often have we defined the places we visit like this, and this is the first time we regret that we’ve used so much verbal ammunition in the past. The pictures simply cannot fully express the mood of the place.

Aloha Informatika

Tenant: Aloha Informatika

Tenant profile: IT development

Office building: Office Garden I.

Interior design: Beáta Ladányi

Size: ~400 m2 office + ~ 500 m2 terrace

Number of employees: 50

Sometimes we think about just how priveleged a position we’re in. We visit all kinds of offices, where for a few hours we can become a part of the atmosphere, and we have a chat with the managers of the company. It seems everyone enjoys it when we visit, they are happy to show us the where their company lives, and share a bit of its background. Every company we visit has something to be proud of, and this is no different at Aloha Informatika.

At Aloha Informatika, there is an obvious family atmosphere. Even the fitout and arrangement of the

office is built as though by family coordination. A good example of this is that, Beáta Ladányi chief financial officer at the company, has a passion for interior design, thus there was no question as to who will be planning the design of the office.

kirowski

Tenant: Kirowski Zrt.

Office building: REsidence

Tenant’s profile: communication agency (digital approach)

Size: ~1600 m2 (kirowski + Aegis)

Number of employees: well over 100 (kirowski + Aegis)

The Hungarian success story, after 10 years, finally saw fit to move their offices from their previous location on Károly körút to look for something with a bit more space, where they could move under one roof with their mother company. Finally, they moved to the SingSing REsidence office building in Víziváros, with the move completed during this past summer.

The story of kirowski – as told by Balázs Tompa, one of the creative managers there who was also one of the founders – began in 96 with 4 architects getting together and undertaking various graphic design works. The switch to internet based works came in 98, and as Balázs told us growth was constant. Representative of their expansion rate, currently there are over 80 employees in the company, and since 2005 the company belongs to the global digital marketing agency network under Aegis Media, namely Isobar.

As the interior height of the building is relatively low – and as we know good creative work needs a large amount of space – thus the company told the owner before fitout began that they wouldn’t be needing the usual lowered ceilings. With this, they brought a bit of industrial character to the otherwise modern office building. Above the ceiling lights white rectangles were painted to reflect the light downwards, as computer dispersed light is more comfortable for working on computers. The lighting plays an important role, as there are many areas which are only dimly lit, which although is ideal for working in front of a computer, can be depressing in the long term.

The walls were created by the Pimp-my-wall team, and one of the founders of kirowski, Csaba Kelemen, was responsible for the designs. The drawings mostly bring a funky feeling to the office; we saw no real connection to the company or its history in them. We have to admit though, that wall decorations of this kind are probably the most efficient way to spruce up an otherwise average office.

Despite the colorful walls, the place is pervaded by rigid professionalism. As can be expected from an online agency, just about everyone we saw was under 40, and the average age was definitely under 30. Corresponding to this, great momentum surrounded us. As could be seen on the young team’s work pace, the online profession dictates quite the tempo, and we could feel the tension in the air.

Just about everyone in the office works in an open-space layout, although the different divisions are well separated from each other. The kitchen functions splendidly as a common area, where thanks to a large balcony smokers don’t have to leave the office area. Also here, you can find a fussball table and a semi-separated rest area. A great aspect of this entire area is that it is very well detached from the rest of the office. This is probably how employees are encouraged to visit common areas only for lunch and a good rest now and then, instead of constantly breaking away for a quick chat.

The company wisely thought of the future and possible expansion, as there is plenty of room in the building next to the for further office space, in case they hire a large influx of new employees. We can safely say that kirowski chose the ideal location for their computer-based workforce, in a quiet environment, with a well partitioned common area, where the sunlight won’t bother anyone too much. 

Additional photos:

Digital Natives

Tenant: Digital Natives
Tenant profile: IT Development
Building: Daróci út 4. Storage-Office environment
Size: ~300 m2
Number of employees: ~20

The great advantage of writing a blog like this is that going from company to company we constantly get tips for which office to visit next. This is how we heard of Digital Natives. We didn’t wait around, after contacting them we went to visit the company at their Daróci út location right away.

The company, which deals with internet based and other IT development, found the office space in 2006, left behind by a design company. Thus the main design elements are thanks to the previous tenant, but it was good to see as these "digital natives" scattered their toys all around the office.

At the reception, we are greeted by Kristóf Bárdos, business development manager, as well as a broad tree. Kristóf immediately lets us wander around to photograph freely. As the emphasis is now on taking pictures, we suppress the urge to play a game of billiards, darts or any of the other games found in the office. The temptation is strong.

As we usually do, we sat down for a chat with Kristóf, and we asked him to tell us about everyday life in the office. He told us about the company’s past, their projects, but we found the most interesting to be their work ethic. Digital Natives has been working for 2 years now with a so-called agile development, or SCRUM methodology. In the traditional approach, a development project works in a way where the customer gives his needs, and a finished product is then developed and delivered to him. During agile development, 2-4 week intervals are agreed upon, when the customer is presented the status of the project, which can then be modified due to seeing it live as well as changing requirements.The result is a much more customer-based approach, and the end product will probably be much better suitable to market standards.

The company’s flagship project is Mindroom, which incorporates state-of-the-art digital sound recognition software. In the entire off – which is shared with a company called Mimoza Communications – about 20 people work in an area of approximately 300 m2. Interestingly, it’s not the work space which is spacious, but the common areas.

Another interesting thing about Digital Natives is that, taking example from Google, employees are ensured time within their regular work hours for self training. The project does differ from the 20% model, as employees here are given not one day a week, but one day a month, and they are expected more to train themselves than work on their own private projects, of which they report to the rest of the team.

Everyone was very laid back and friendly at the company. A good example was during our discussion with Kristóf, when a colleague sat down to join us, as he was curious about our story. We think that despite the industrial feel to the office space, perhaps friendly is the best word to describe what we saw. We liked it.

 Thanks to Kristóf’s knowledge, we received yet another tip for spotting. For now, all we can say about the next office space is that it is quite high up, and that we are grateful for the tip. Learn more next week, here on the blog.

Additional photos: