Making A Space In Tune With SoundCloud
Berlin, Germany 2013-2015
Kelly joined SoundCloud in Berlin in 2013, when the company’s 80 employees were spread across four offices in Berlin’s Mitte district. SoundCloud’s mission is “to enrich lives through the shared love of sound”, and SoundCloud’s founders Alex Ljung and Eric Wahlforss gave Kelly the mission to create the company’s first intentionally-designed headquarters, where the entire growing team — 230 by the completion of the project — could sit together in one space.
“Winston Churchill once famously said that “we shape our buildings, and afterwards, our buildings shape us.” The work Kelly did for our new SoundCloud headquarters meant exactly that: the space enabled us to create a culture where people can unlock their full potential.
David Noël, Head of Internal Communications”
Kelly’s blank canvas was three floors and 4,300 square meters within Factory Berlin: Germany’s largest startup campus, a former cigarette factory adjacent to the footprint of the former Berlin Wall in Mitte. Working with Kinzo Berlin, Kelly lead the charge to create a colorful, edgy-but-warm space for employees from more than 30 different countries.
To facilitate community, the heart of the office is the space’s only kitchen and cafe space, situated atop the main stairwell that connects SoundCloud’s two lower floors. Other features include a nap room for jetlagged travellers, a wood-burning fireplace, a professional recording studio, a terrace where employees tend a garden, a green room filled with light and plants, and a maker’s room for creative inspiration.
Kelly Robinson, Designer
“SoundCloud resonated with my belief in the connection of all people. Music is a universal language that unites people through common vibrations. Giving my energy to a company that empowers people to create and share music worldwide was a natural fit.”
Photos by Christian Werner