Summary sheet
sectorTech
area5 700m²
placeParis 1st
delivery2021
Engaged Expertises
- Furniture and Decoration.
- Strategy and Property Search.
- Concept & Storytelling.
- Architectural Concept.
Voodoo
Paris 1st // 5 700m²
sectorTech
Voodoo ups its game for corporate culture.
Voodoo, a French unicorn specialising in smartphone video games since 2013, has made an incredible ascent
Voodoo, a French unicorn specialising in smartphone video games since 2013, has made an incredible ascent. It's been a real success story for the founders of this start-up, which is now the world leader in the 'hyper-casual' mobile games segment. With over 5 billion downloads and 300 million active users a month, the company is fast becoming one of the big names in gaming. With characteristic humility and against the grain of its motto, "We entertain the world", Voodoo has lived through its success discretely.
Beyond the qualities of its technical and creative productions, Voodoo's managerial mindset is in phase with new professional paradigms. Far from worrying about a shiny but misleading façade, the company has focused its efforts on the story it tells within its walls. With this in mind, Voodoo came to Factory, entrusting us with an internal development project dedicated to corporate culture, quality of life at work and productivity.
Voodoo makes space for its ambitions.
"Voodoo's ambition was to provide employees with productive workspaces, to parallel previous achievements and deliver new ideas."
We needed to find a more spacious working environment, conducive to the free expansion of Voodoo, which had barely 100 employees when the project was launched. A property search for the ideal premises was the first step in accommodating 500 employees.
After several months sharing a co-working space, Voodoo wanted to take flight and move into its own professional environment.
The ultimate aim was to take over a high-capacity space. The ambition was to invest in a work base that was as tranquil as it was remarkable, a standard-bearer for its corporate values and a vector of collective pride. A place to match its ambitions, imbued with an atmosphere conducive to team synergy and creativity.
True to its status as a challenger, Voodoo did not want its head office to be a showcase for its success, but rather to design modular, functional premises.
Voodoo's ambition was to provide employees with a productive workspaces, to parallel previous achievements and deliver new ideas.
A playground as practical as it is iconic.
No setting could have been more fitting for Voodoo than the Poste du Louvre, a landmark in the Parisian consciousness.
Nestled in a historic, Haussmann style building, this edifice is an architectural jewel of this Parisien district's heritage. Somewhere between exuberant and discrete, the heart of this incredible place is a central courtyard with a subdued atmosphere. A breath of timeless air, undetectable from the outside, lends a magic allure to this location that blends modernity and history.
Imbued with the capital's industrial influence and history, the building was the perfect option to meet the Voodoo's aspirations for development. Firstly, it provided a practical solution in terms of capacity, and secondly, the emotional charge of the property added real soul to the head office. An architectural symbol as iconic as the company's status in the mobile gaming sector.
"An architectural symbol as iconic as the company's status in the mobile gaming sector."
Our mission didn't stop at finding the perfect place to house Voodoo's employees, the Factory team also had to come up with a creative concept to shape this diamond in the rough. To protect Voodoo HQ's finery and elevate its proud appearance, we imagined the layout of the premises inspired by the Japanese philosophy of "Wabi Sabi" - the art of living based on the complementarity and balance of Yin and Yang - as an invitation to celebrate the beauty of imperfection and of ephemeral, modest things.
Perfectly imperfect offices.
"The tenets of Wabi Sabi served as the foundation for all the project's architectural and decorative choices."
Our strategy was guided from the outset by several key objectives, including the design of spaces dedicated to creativity, and places to recharge one's batteries. Quality of life at work was a priority in our shared vision, so we designed spaces that inspire both performance and satisfaction. The tenets of Wabi Sabi served as the foundation for all the project's architectural and decorative choices, with simplicity and minimalism as drivers in the design.
Factory used its full creative flair to deliver the project with the same attention to detail and exacting standards that characterise Voodoo's own design projects. We deployed simple but first-rate materials, within a framework of beauty without fuss. Far from the excess and abundance of our time, we capitalised on the utilitarian function of furniture and decorative elements. No gadgets, just the essentials. The motto "less is more" perfectly reflects the mindset of the project and has guided our teams every step of the way.
"The motto "less is more" perfectly reflects the mindset of the project and has guided our teams every step of the way."
The use of wood and the natural tones of beiges and browns, supported by raw, textured materials, allowed us to pay homage to the interactions between humankind and its environment. We didn't want to saturate the decor, or integrate other colours, so as not to distort an interior design that "stands on its own".
Beyond the apparent minimalism, we wanted to give the space a reassuring, warm aura. The idea was to induce a feeling of well-being conducive to the creation of qualitative experiences in the workplace. A fine demonstration of Voodoo's managerial culture and values, through the lens its workspaces.
"The greening of the spaces and the choice of materials with their natural abrasiveness have played a major role in creating a place shaped by nature."
Carpets provide softness and warm acoustics, while insulating boxes create spaces that feel like safe bubbles. Plants and the choice of materials with their natural rough edges have played a major role in the creation of a space shaped by nature: a subtle alternation between indoors and outdoors to offer employees a place to get away from it all. Open-spaces, hybrid places for relaxation and concentration, have been designed to allow people and ideas to circulate freely.
"Adaptability was the key word in designing a space that embraces imperfection, while striving for impeccable quality."
This 9 month project was a constant balancing act. Adaptability was the key to designing a space that embraced imperfection, while striving for impeccable quality.
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