Inside a tech company’s grown-up NYC headquarters

Interior designer Dani Arps (and member of Curbed’s 2016 Young Guns class) recently completed the design of SeatGeek’s new headquarters in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan, imbuing them with an unfussy yet dynamic industrial aesthetic—and a controlled use of color.

Arps was involved with the event ticket marketplace’s new office from the get-go, a year-long process that included finding the space as well as collaborating with architectural practice Sardar Design Studio. “Honestly, the architectural conceptual part of the space is the most fun for me,” Arps said.

The result is a bright, white-walled open-plan 30,000-square-foot space (it used to be four individual offices), whose design was approached programmatically—based on how SeatGeek’s teams are divided, the various events they like to hold, and all-hands meetings, for example—and to answer Arps’s guiding question: “How do we make this enormous space feel like one office where everyone feels connected?”

The new offices feature elements that are standard to many startups and tech-related companies like open seating, glass-box conference rooms, flexible common spaces and lounges, private work areas, and a huge and inviting kitchen.

But it also boasts a plethora of custom-designed details that make it unique and personal to the company. These include a series of oversized pendant lights in silver and the company’s signature blue that create zones in a larger space; Arps-designed “Dani Lounges” that are high-backed plywood lounge chairs on casters, some of which have white-board panels for on-the-fly brainstorming; and 18 self-watering plant walls, to name a few.

One of the new digs’ showcase pieces is a 30-foot-long stadium seating unit in the kitchen, conceptualized as an ode to the company’s concept. Part of it even incorporates roll-out storage and additional storage.

Subtle but impactful gestures like this—plus the 3D mural of deconstructed antique stadium seats at reception—pay homage to SeatGeek’s identity without calling too much attention to it. Other touches, like illustrations of the company’s favorite venues and event spaces found throughout, plus the kitchen’s gallery wall of employee caricatures add even more personality to the space. Take a look.