T-Mobile has opened the doors to the first building of their major headquarters redesign in Bellevue, a space that more accurately reflects and celebrates the mobile communication giant's unique culture.

Gensler was tasked to renovate and design the T-Mobile headquarters located in Bellevue, Washington.

T-Mobile’s HQ campus renovation project celebrates the company’s unique culture, focusing on recruiting top talent and employee retention in a competitive job market.

The newly completed and re-named Building One was the first location on the Bellevue HQ campus to undergo a dramatic redesign. Data from the Gensler Workplace Performance Index survey, interviews, workshops, and analysis informed programming and space planning decisions, allowing the team to strategize a design to accommodate an evolving workforce. When the research uncovered that large meeting rooms and cubicles were being underutilized, Gensler designers sought flexible solutions that could better accommodate the needs of T-Mobile employees. The new workplace strategy provides scaled-down neighborhoods which are broken out into project rooms, open collaboration spaces, focus rooms, and shared workstations to allow for an activity-based work environment. Now employees and teams can choose where they want to work.

Building One is terraced with large outdoor spaces for employees to enjoy but unfortunately, these spaces were often inaccessible and neglected prior to the redesign. Gensler recognized the potential of the outdoor space and used the connection to the outdoors as the design influence of the building interiors. Outdoor elements such as wood, custom planters for greenery, and natural textures were woven into the workplace. The design team moved all built elements away from the perimeter to allow for users to be exposed to more natural light. This indoor/outdoor connection creates a calming environment for collaboration and creativity.

The amenity level is part of a larger campus-wide strategy of unifying the various buildings through a series of sky bridges. This project was the first opportunity to think of campus wayfinding in a new way, with five buildings in mind. Employees are encouraged to stop by Building One to enjoy the game room, cafe, and open collaborative meeting spaces. Gensler created a new set of building amenities based on corporate benchmarking. The building is home to beautifully designed employee amenities such as all-gender restrooms, new mothers rooms, wellness rooms, and a room set aside for prayer or meditation.

By listening to the needs of their employees, T-Mobile is equipping the next generation with a workplace that will empower employees to live and work in new and powerful ways.

Design: Gensler

Contractor: Andersen Construction

Photography: Heywood Chan

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