Software giant SAP has opened its new SAP Academy for Engineering on the company’s San Ramon, Calif. campus. Designed by HGA, the Engineering Academy will provide professional development opportunities for SAP’s global engineering workforce.
At the Engineering Academy, cohorts from SAP offices across the globe will come together for intensive, six-month training programs. These innovators and thought leaders will then carry their new insights to the rest of the organization.
At almost 57,000 sf, the facility includes flexible project rooms for teamwork and coding caves for more private deskwork. Other spaces include a high-tech virtual reality room, a creativity room with a touch-screen table, a central auditorium called The Arena, a café and lounge, and a museum of successful innovations. At the Academy Pledge Wall, graduates take an engineer’s pledge to promote the Academy’s values in their professional community.
“SAP’s relentless commitment to advancing the culture of engineering inspired our design of the Academy for Engineering,” Lisa Macaluso, principal and national interior design business development leader at HGA and the project’s lead, said in a statement. “Consequently, our design encourages and celebrates lifelong learning.”
Along with consulting partner Purple, HGA infused SAP’s history and values of craftsmanship, curiosity, courage, compassion, and community into the Academy’s design. For example, the facility walls showcase SAP’s earliest code, while the café boasts locally sourced tiles and a lakeside view.
With a collection of rare books by Nobel Prize laureates, the Academy’s museum also reminds employees of SAP’s purpose and values. And the central, circular Arena emphasizes the values of curiosity and community by placing speakers at eye level with the audience.
On the Building Team:
Owner and developer: SAP
Architect: HGA
Structural engineer: HGA
General contractor/construction manager: Source Construction, Inc.
Curriculum/user experience consultant: Purple
Related Stories
Museums | Jun 28, 2015
Manhattan's New Museum debuts first museum-led incubator space
Part studio, part shared workplace, part lab, and part professional development program, NEW INC connects design with technology, the arts with the market, students with seasoned practitioners, and the museum with the world.
High-rise Construction | Jun 23, 2015
The world's best new skyscrapers for 2015
One World Trade Center and Abu Dhabi's Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower are among the four towers named Best Tall Buildings by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
Office Buildings | Jun 18, 2015
How tech firms use real estate for competitive advantage
The tech sector is the top industry leasing office space in the U.S., accounting for 20% of major leasing activity in 2014. Dina Belon of Paladino and Company shares how these firms are using their real estate to go up against their competitors.
Office Buildings | Jun 17, 2015
Daniel Libeskind unveils 'talking towers' design for Rome development
The scheme will drastically change the Eternal City’s skyline: three angular towers that look like they’re “in conversation with one another.”
Office Buildings | Jun 12, 2015
Houston's energy sector keeps office construction humming
Colliers International projects continued expansion this year in its quarterly report on national office market.
Office Buildings | Jun 11, 2015
Pop-up tree-office opens in London borough of Hackney
London's Hackney borough welcomed a new kind of workspace to Hoxton Square—the TreexOffice.
Modular Building | Jun 10, 2015
London debuts business complex made from 50 shipping containers
London's newest business complex, Pop Brixton, will support local entrepreneurs, create jobs, and is made entirely of shipping containers.
Office Buildings | Jun 9, 2015
Bjarke Ingels unveils stepped design for final WTC tower
The towering "staircase" will rise from St. Paul’s chapel to the skyline, leaning against One World Trade Center.
Office Buildings | Jun 9, 2015
Hines planning $300 million office tower for Denver skyline
Designed by Pickard Chilton, the 640,000-sf tower is geared for large-scale tenants, with features like floor-to-ceiling glass, a 5,000-sf fitness center, a tenant lounge, and a series of outdoor terraces.
Office Buildings | Jun 3, 2015
Tech's influence on the workplace: 4 lessons from the field
Beyond space and programmatic considerations, four tenets highlight today’s tech workplaces: strength of story, design empathy, technology presence, and hackerspace.
