April 1st marks the beginning of a new chapter for Direct Agents. While many businesses are migrating away from big cities or shifting to fully remote operations, we are excited to be moving and expanding our NYC headquarters to the Acceleration Hub, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and E 21st in the heart of New York City’s Flatiron District.
Just steps away from Madison Square Park, the sun-drenched 16th-floor penthouse office suite boasts 360-degree views of the NYC skyline. In designing the space, the focus and priority were on creating collaborative workspaces with hyper-connected technology – to truly integrate the hybrid work experience Co-founders Dinesh & Josh Boaz and Head of HR Sara Martinez-Noriega worked closely together with the talented team at BR Design to bring their vision for the future of workplaces into reality.
The Acceleration Hub was carefully designed from floor to ceiling in a way that exudes a fresh feel. The creative minds behind the project chose to ditch cubicles for long, open tables that help foster face-to-face human connection. They even allotted space to private, zoom-friendly rooms for virtual meetings with out-of-office collaborators to take place without interruption.
DA designed various breakout rooms and conference rooms to provide even more room for teams to collaborate and host external meetings. These rooms will be simple in color and finishes, with the windows looking out to capture the essence of 5th Ave and our 16th-floor views. We chose to add additional glass to showcase the view to anyone seated in front of the room and for visitors walking into the space. There is something about the space that feels like a hub for new ideas and innovation but is also timeless and iconic by being flanked by NYC’s classic Flatiron to the north and Hudson Yards to the northwest.
DA made sure to include plenty of fun features as well. To start the day off right, our employees are welcome to serve themselves cold brew on tap each morning at the bar and enjoy it around the kitchen’s long island, conducive to round-table water cooler talk and community bonding over snacks. From there, they can decompress in our game room over a few rounds of Pac-Man or ping pong.
Art also plays a big factor in the new office’s vibe. Many of the walls are lined with eye-catching prints to embrace the fun in the culture and one features a mural designed by local artist, Taylor Pivetz. In our kitchen, we showcase artwork done by our in-house creative team. You’ll also see several photography prints taken by our Co-founder Dinesh Boaz and his colleague David Allee around our new space. David’s work has been featured in NY Times, The New Yorker, Business Insider, and more.
With the groundwork completed and given even more space to grow, our team will undoubtedly turn the Acceleration Hub into the high-thriving environment we envision it to be.