Immersion

For a company that has spent the last 20 years leading the haptic digital touch technology industry, Immersion Corporation was housed in an office space stuck in the 1990s. After securing a lease on their new 42,000 square foot empty shell in the heart of Silicon Valley, they asked FENNIE+MEHL to create a space that would propel them into the 21st century and attract innovative tech talent. The super-tight budget was another design challenge all together.

Their list of remodeling needs was long: inspiring rooms for all-hands meetings, individualized work, conference, sales, lab, R&D, and warehousing spaces as well as areas for cooking and eating and team building. While their previous space separated each team, F+M designed their new space as a playground for the diverse inter-team cultures, spanning the executive leadership team, the heads-down engineers, the collaborative user-experience group, and the globetrotting marketing team. The celebration of all teams is literally written on a wall with a F+M-custom designed graphic of the company’s mission and vision statement.

What started as a nearly one-acre, single-story, largely windowless space became open and integrated. The low ceilings were removed to expose the volume and bring natural light and views deep into the space. To bring the culture front and center, F+M created cost-effective yet impactful and inspirational signage throughout the small meeting rooms and large communal spaces which double as branding statements, reminding all of Immersion’s importance to the world. A nice touch, indeed.