Fluidity Inspires Rapid Innovation at SAP Software by IA Interior Architects

Designers hear often that engineers do a large amount of focus work, and thus need more quiet space than many workers. Designers also often drive potential work environment testing once hired for a project by clients seeking guidance on workplace culture. But the engineers at leading software company SAP were not average clients, and certainly are not average engineers. When IA Interior Architects pitched to Heidelberg, Germany-based SAP, which sought to design a three-building Research & Development center for 500 employees at its Palo Alto campus, it found an informed client with unusual work goals in direct contrast to typical engineering work styles. “When we pitched to them, we spoke about flexibility, and they said, “No, we’re looking for fluidity,’” said Mary Lee Duff, principal and workplace design strategy director at IA. “While flexibility means you have the ability to change things, fluidity means you have the ability to do …