People/Products

In San Francisco, the latest tech office has the cultural prominence a lavish restaurant or fancy boutique would elsewhere. As the battle to entice technical talent continues, designers strive to outdo the competition with their imaginative environments. One of the latest entries is the Bloomberg Tech Hub, designed by the San Francisco'based firm IwamotoScott. The 20,000-square-foot space houses the financial-technology and media company's West Coast research-and-development and venture-capital groups, envisioned for a staff of 100. The design eschews the DIY hacker vibe that is common to many other tech offices for pure architectural drama, incorporating a faceted tank of stingrays and a sculpted wood screen, as well as refined details like door handles wrapped in black leather.