Casestudy

Guerrilla relocates to the old Telegraaf building

Guerrilla is a video game developer that designs amazing games. For those in the know, the game ‘Horizon: Zero Dawn’ was one of their creations. After being internationally lauded and growing, the company decided that it was time to move offices. The choice was narrowed down to an old building that once housed De Telegraaf newspaper, situated near Dam Square. It was built during the 1930’s Art Deco period – and was transformed into Guerrilla’s new and unique home thanks to CBRE’s design team.

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Stijn Poelstra fotografie & video
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Curious about relocating your building?

Finding a better fit for us

‘"We had grown out of our old premises," said Angie Smets, studio director and executive producer at Guerrilla. "Our old office situated on Herengracht in Amsterdam had become too small to accommodate all of our employees. In addition, we use a lot of equipment – every workplace had a heavy PC, a ‘developer-playstation’ and several screens. That took up space of course, but also produced heat. In fact, our old premises were always too hot”.

Not a laptop-based company

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CBRE was asked to think about new premises for the company. An extra challenge was that the new office had to accommodate the growing employee numbers but also all of their equipment. "We also need several studios in addition to the equipment at the workplaces” said Angie Smets. “For example, we need sound studios in which we design sound, and a motion capture studio in which we record animations”.

A pearl in the heart of Amsterdam

Through CBRE, we discovered that the old Telegraaf building on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal would become available. It is a spacious historic building in a great location close to Dam Square, which was a big plus for us. Our roots are in Amsterdam and we are happy to reflect that in our choice of premises”.

The building was completed as a multi-tenant building, which was intended to accommodate several tenants. Therefore, it needed to be flexible enough to accommodate different types of companies. Even then, many adjustments were needed to transform the old Telegraaf building into Guerrilla’s new home, and they wanted to rent out all the available square meterage. "The building was once exclusively designed as a printing and editorial office, which is still reflected in the design”, said Smets. “We had to give careful thought about how to integrate our activities into the space”

A home base for Guerrilla

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Guerrilla engaged CBRE’s design studio, led by Head of Design Ayca Dogan. "She started by taking an inventory of all the functions that had to be given a place inside the building” said Smets. “That step resulted in a master plan, which we then tested out with different types of employees. We asked things like where they got their coffee when they arrived in the morning, where they worked, and how that work would be done. We refined the master plan based on these insights until the concept was completely aligned with who we are as Guerrilla”.

Getting everything on the right track

CBRE Project Manager Robin Adriaanse had the task of realising their ambitious plans. He ensured that all appointments were in the calendar, monitored the process and the quality of the work delivered, as well as created reports and kept a close eye on the budgets. In addition, he set up project teams within Guerrilla. “An interior design is only successful if it meets employees’ needs” said Adriaanse. “We set up teams with delegations in order to get a clear picture of those needs from Guerrilla. We had I.T. and facilities teams, and even a special team for the sound studios. We supplemented the team with external experts where needed. For instance, in the field of spatial acoustics, which was one of the pain-points in the old building. Guerrilla itself has no in-house knowledge of acoustics”.

Guerrilla ready to begin the next level

Guerrilla’s new home base is complete after an intensive process. Smets said that she is satisfied with the result. “CBRE was not afraid to present daring choices to us, such as the server room that is now at the heart of the building. That choice fit in nicely with who we are as a company. We really had the right connection with regard to our creative processes and were able to think outside the box together."

No delays despite the corona crisis

Guerrilla-Games-CBRE-transformatieIt is also worth noting that CBRE were able to deliver on schedule despite the corona lockdowns. There were plenty of times where there seemed to be stalls in delivery of materials and furniture, such as when some countries closed their borders. CBRE always came up with a solution so we simply met the planned relocation date. That showed that CBRE has a large network coupled with plenty of market knowledge. We have not really been able to test out the new premises due to the corona crisis but even now there is a really nice vibe to it. We hope to start using it fully again soon”.

A few highlights

  • Server space in the centre

    In most buildings, the server is found in a technical room that’s tucked away from visitors and employees. At Guerrilla, the server room is situated centrally on the first floor. "That's very symbolic, because all our equipment runs on it. It is the heart of our company, "says Smets. “The first level’s floor had to be reinforced with steel beams so the top-heavy server room could be installed”.

  • Guerrilla City

    The first floor is arranged as a space for meetings, where Guerrilla meets with guests and applicants. The sound studios also provide activity within "Guerrilla City". The boardroom enables new game designs to be presented on a large screen and assessed by different specialists, all at the same time. All Guerrilla employees come together in the amphitheatre. The workplaces themselves are situated on the higher levels.

  • Housing a number of artworks

    There is an artwork on the ground floor that was designed by Guerrilla’s designers themselves. It is inspired by a character in Horizon: Zero Dawn, their global blockbuster game. “We couldn’t place our reception the ground floor” said Smets. “This artwork lets you know that you know immediately that you’re entering our premises”.

  • A phenomenal view

    The company restaurant is on the top floor and consists of two parts – a Balinese style terrace and the lower part in Japanese style. There’s a fantastic view of the city from every lunch table.

Read and see more about in our Guerilla Games press kit.

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