The largest private-equity firm in the world opened a more casual, amenity-filled office for its tech team — take a look inside

Sarah Jacobs

When it comes to recruiting and retaining top tech talent, Blackstone, the world’s largest private-equity firm, is often competing with the likes of Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Blackstone Innovations, the tech team that designs tools for Blackstone’s employees and investors and acts as in-house advisors for potential tech investments, recently moved out of the firm’s New York headquarters and across the street to their own space. The new digs come complete with a pool table, event space, and a much more casual dress code.

“[We wanted to] put [our team] in a position where they’re comfortable, and spur them to think differently,” William Murphy, CTO of Blackstone Innovations, told Business Insider during a visit to the new space. Ahead, take a look at the brand-new offices in Midtown Manhattan.    

“People often expect that everybody who is tech-y wants to have an open plan with Nerf guns,” Murphy joked. When Blackstone surveyed its tech employees about their needs in a new office, they found that many simply needed a quiet, comfortable space.

Murphy, who worked directly with the architects to help create the new office, was determined to exceed his employees’ expectations.

“If you’re trying to make it seem like your team is a family, you want to make sure your space feels like home,” he said.

For the common space, innovative and versatile design was key. This large lunch table can also serve as a pool table when it’s unfolded.

This conference room can open up into the common space.

And this garage-like wall can fold down to create a private, quiet meeting area. The white lunch tables can also be raised for a more casual, happy-hour type of event.

Since almost 150 people work remotely on the Innovations Team — and because the office is located away from the main Blackstone headquarters — making video conferencing easier to navigate was a must.

Health was also a major concern for many employees. Standing desks were installed throughout the office.

There are also a few treadmill desks available for use throughout the office, in their own private rooms.

Natural light was a must for the new layout. Murphy was sure to prioritize desks near the windows.

When not at their desks, the team is able to roam freely and duck into any open, available room for some quiet space.

Booths like these are available for more casual meet-ups …

… and private conference rooms are there for brainstorms.

This open space with elevated seating allows for user experience testing in a comfortable, collaborative space.

Each of the office’s “neighborhoods” has a different accent color that influences the decor.

With roughly 140 full-time employees at the office, making sure the 30,000-square-foot space felt big enough was a challenge.

Building conference tables directly into the wall, such as in this space, helped create more space within the rooms.

Murphy said that the new office is far from “sterile,” and that it’s much more collaborative than their old space.

They even instated a new dress code for this office so that employees could feel free to come to work in more casual workwear. However, if they’re going over to the main Blackstone headquarters, they still need to suit up. A dressing room provides them a space to do so, just in case.

“Seeing everybody here enjoying [the space] was more important than anything that I’ve gotten out of it personally. I wanted to see the team happy and thriving … it makes me feel good that we accomplished our goal,” Murphy said.

With the new event space, the team plans to have more after-work happy-hour events and cross-team collaborations.

Read more stories on Business Insider, Malaysian edition of the world’s fastest-growing business and technology news website.

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