Over the 20 years that Alan Braverman worked at tech companies—as an employee, co-founder or investor—he was never satisfied with the offices he occupied. Starting Giant Pixel gave him a chance to demonstrate his belief in the importance of design. “I finally saw an opportunity to make the office as great as I’ve always imagined an office could be.”
Over the 20 years that Alan Braverman worked at tech companies—as an employee, co-founder or investor—he was never satisfied with the offices he occupied. Starting Giant Pixel gave him a chance to demonstrate his belief in the importance of design. “I finally saw an opportunity to make the office as great as I’ve always imagined an office could be.”
City San Francisco, CA
Year 2013
Size 4,200 sq ft
Team Primo Orpilla, Denise Cherry, Clem Soga, Neil Bartley, Caren Currie, Jeorge Jordan, Elizabeth Guerrero
Photographer Jasper Sanidad
O+A’s challenge was to equip Braverman’s great office with a variety of spaces and fit them into three small floors. Each floor is a mix of practical applications and design grace notes—a fully-functioning bar and game room in the basement; a reception and work shop area on the first floor; an “apartment” with floating fireplace and workstations on the second.
Each of these spaces includes unique details. The blackened steel entrance canopy, for example, features a computer code pattern that conveys a secret message to those savvy enough to read it. Paired with a custom reception desk that looks like a desert rock formation and a chandelier constructed of office lamps, the effect is of a sculpture garden inside the front door.
Giant Pixel is a forceful demonstration of how O+A tells the client’s story. Forceful as in “May the Force be with you.” Giant Pixel’s enthusiasm for Star Wars iconography is everywhere apparent—just one element of realizing Alan Braverman’s dream of an awesome office. “Everyone on the team wants to invite their friends over,” he says.