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
Retail Centers | May 18, 2015
ULI forecast sees clear skies for real estate over next three years
With asset availability declining in several sectors, rents and transactions should rise.
Office Buildings | May 18, 2015
New ASHRAE standard offers test method to determine heat gain of office equipment
The standard will aid engineers in configuring cooling systems in office buildings.
Office Buildings | May 17, 2015
Mountain View, Calif., denies development rights for Google campus master plan
Despite Google’s offer of new bike paths, wetlands restoration, and other perks, the city of Mountain View, Calif., denied the company the development rights to construct a grand new headquarters.
Sponsored | Coatings | May 14, 2015
Prismatic coatings accent the new Altara Center
This multi-use campus will contain a university, sports facilities, medical center, and world-class shopping
Industrial Facilities | May 11, 2015
SOM-designed Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute opens in Chicago
The new space will be a place for academia, industries, and civic bodies to collaborate.
Mixed-Use | May 10, 2015
Construction on Orlando’s massive ‘innovation hub’ is finally starting
The $1 billion Creative Village development will create a business and education hub.
High-rise Construction | May 6, 2015
Two new designs submitted for New York City Riverside Center
Both designs reference the cantilevers and other elements featured in architect Christian de Portzamparc’s original masterplan for the complex, which has now been scrapped.
High-rise Construction | May 6, 2015
Parks in the sky? Subterranean bike paths? Meet the livable city, designed in 3D
Today’s great cities must be resilient—and open—to many things, including the influx of humanity, writes Gensler co-CEO Andy Cohen.
Building Owners | May 6, 2015
Hackathons and RFCs: Why one developer killed the RFP
In lieu of an RFP process, Skanska Commercial Development hosted a three-week "hackathon" to find an architect for its 2&U tower in Seattle.
Office Buildings | May 6, 2015
Is the office lobby the workplace of the future?
Perkins+Will's Tony Layne discusses three key trends driving the shift to workplaces that offer greater flexibility and choice for employees.