Creating a fresh and energetic workplace environment for a company that prides itself on innovation and purpose gave Walker Design the motive for Fattmerchant’s new corporate headquarters in Downtown Orlando. This local start-up company set roots in Orlando six years ago and since then has expanded to be one of the nation’s financial technology leaders. Having significantly outgrown their previous space, Fattmerchant partnered with Walker Design to help redefine their brand standards, foster innovation and reinforce their culture throughout their new workplace.
The facilities programmed within this office align with the Fattmerchant company values, ‘work hard and play hard’. The office is outfitted with an in-house training room, to educate new hires and existing employees with company updates. The teamwork does not stop there, the office also includes an on-site fitness center, gaming area, mothers lounge, podcast room, coffee bar as well as various other staff amenities. Informal meeting spaces are planned throughout the office, offering a casual space to have a quick meeting or sit with a laptop to check emails. The hub of collaboration is the employee cafe, located central to the open office. The fluid open plan allows for flexible use of this space from impromptu all-hands meetings or a 5 o’clock post-work happy hour. The eclectic use of color and materiality in this area evokes an inviting and energetic atmosphere.
The staff work areas are purposely planned adjacent to exterior floor-to-ceiling windows, which provide an abundance of natural light. Workstations are interrupted by smaller collaborative 4-person meeting tables and larger conference suites to achieve the desired density while avoiding departmental overlap. Through innovative planning, spatial sculpting, diversity in lighting, materiality, and architectural brand implementation, the company culture of Fattmerchant is captured within the new workplace.