The history of Another.com is an original internet success story. Operating at the beginning of the new millennium, which signified the revolutionary birth of e-commerce, the company had a simple product: supplying free, personalized email addresses, tailor-made for our modern needs. Quickly accumulating more than a million users in less than a year, the company required a design for their headquarters that would set them apart from the competition in this booming industry, and in turn, would attract a new generation of tech-savvy workforce.

Hired to design a space unlike anything you've seen before, Marta Nowicka admits that this out-of-the-box project was no easy feat. A loft space in Kentish Town, London, was the perfect environment with its large open-plan architecture and industrial feel. The concept, "surf and turf" as Marta calls it is a metaphor for the "surfing" work areas which are conceived as big blocks of specially designed metalwork arranged around a turf park. Consulted by Kew Gardens, the large rectangle of living grass has been installed in a raised platform, which cleverly hides the irrigation system underneath, while ultraviolet lights provide the necessary daylight effect from above. The non-conventional design emphasizes the company's lack of hierarchical structures and invites the employees to be part of the conversation. In this modern workspace, everyone has a sit at the table, or rather, a spot on the grass.

Creating a social space like that not only provides the company with an area to hold casual meetings but also offers a conversation starter, making the experience of the space memorable for new clients of the company. The reception area continues the "playground" metaphor, introducing clear plastic swings in the waiting room that hang from the exposed metal beam. Another.com admits that the unconventional design is part of their brand's strategy, it's an approach that prioritizes modernity and innovation. Out with the old, in with the new!

Year of Completion: 2000

1700 sq feet
(incl. reception area, turf meeting room, open-plan workspace area)