Boeing NeXt Office

Responsible for developing Boeing’s next generation of air and space mobility, Boeing NeXt needed a futuristic, high-tech workplace to support innovation and creativity.

Working closely with the client, HOK designed a space that celebrates the spirit of imagination and exploration that first launched Boeing and continues to propel the company forward. The result is a sophisticated work environment that sparks free thinking and fosters synergies.

Design elements borrowed from aviation and science fiction reinforce Boeing NeXt’s vision and create a consistent architectural language that spans employee workspaces and client collaboration areas. To create a feeling of flight and discovery, the design team rounded the office’s exterior windows, giving the space the sense of being inside an aircraft.

Incorporating historic Boeing artifacts within the workspace provides playful moments of discovery. Salvaged propellers make for a mechanical creature gliding over the café. A flying wing morphed from a 737 tail stabilizer sweeps through reception. Propeller nose cone spinners suspend glass plate coffee tables. The nacelle from a 747 jet engine energizes the showroom welcome area as a reception desk.

Glass-enclosed meeting rooms reference the pod-shaped people movers that shuttle travelers between airport terminals. Satellite image floor graphics create a sensation of floating over a city. Floor-to-ceiling graphics in conference rooms reveal the cockpit approach views of cities where Boeing has a meaningful presence.

The futuristic customer engagement center captivates visitors with red entry floors, a “liquid metal” ceiling inspired by the polished aluminum used by Boeing’s designers and a dramatic automated airlock. Adding to the overall effect are flying-saucer lighting over workstations and orbit lights around collaboration pods. An adjacent boardroom has curved glazing, flight-inspired details and embedded technology.

Boeing NeXt occupies the third and fourth floors of 4220 Duncan, an HOK-designed building in the Cortex Innovation Community.