Tech giant Yahoo! Inc. announced Thursday in its Tumblr blog that it will be moving its San Francisco team to the Chronicle Building at Fifth and Mission later in the year. The company has signed a five-year lease for office space of more than 70,000 square feet, according to several news reports.
Though the financial terms were not declared, NBC news speculates the lease to be at least worth $17 million. The space is currently occupied by Square Inc, a merchant service aggregating giant. The company will be moving to 1455 Market, closer to Twitter's office. Yahoo will be moving from its current space at 475 Sansome Street, where it occupies several floors, according to Hollywood Reporter.
In the blog, Jacqueline Reses, Chief Development Officer, Yahoo! Wrote:
Today, I have the pleasure of announcing that we'll be moving our Yahoo! San Francisco team to a space within the San Francisco Chronicle building at Fifth and Mission later this year. We're designing a cool, fun and beautiful space to inspire collaboration and innovation.
These days, transformation is palpable everywhere you turn at Yahoo!. For this reason, we love the symbolism of moving into the Chronicle building, as it personifies the digital revolution in how people around the world consume media.
The Chronicle Building has been the headquarters of the San Francisco Chronicle since 1924. The building has undergone elegant renovations. Though it might look like a Victorian building from the outside, the structure has modern offices inside, just cool enough to accommodate today's savvy tech giants and their requirements. The space that Yahoo will be occupying includes all normal tech quarter requirements like glass conference rooms, open cubicles, cushioned cabanas, game rooms, a gourmet food area and a lot of collaborative space, reports SF Gate.
Though the space is spic and span, Yahoo will be adding its own oomph to the place and customize it to make the employees feel at home.
The trend of upping the cool and comfort quotient at the workplace has gained much popularity now. Gone are the days when one had to walk into the office wearing crisp uptight suits, carrying the signature black briefcase and sitting in uncomfortable chairs with piles of files stacked on an equally uncomfortable table.
With the rise of the tech revolution, offices have become much of a home. In a feature in BBC, Lucy Kellaway explains how the lines that distinguish a workplace from home have been blurred. According to a survey, about 70 percent of the time in office is spent "cyber loafing".
In the feature, she writes:
Over the last 25 years what we do in either place has got harder to separate. In the office we shop, email friends, go to the gym, have a nap and, at a pinch, have sex on the photocopier.
Meanwhile, at home we do our work email, take part in conference calls, write reports and have our best ideas. It leaves one wondering that, if the two spaces are much of a muchness, what's the point of having an office at all?
Tech firms have also gotten a lot more decor savvy. Google leads the pack with its extraordinary interiors all done up in bright colors, lampshades and cushioned recreation areas. Facebook is also getting a Frank Gehry designed headquarters at Menlo Park, California.
