Conga’s new Broomfield global headquarters invites exploration

Conga, the leader in end-to-end digital document transformation, opened its new global headquarters in Broomfield.

Designed by DLR Group, the 88,000-square-foot project was designed to provide up to 650 Conga employees with a state-of-the-art campus that supports accelerated innovation, productivity and company culture.

“When DLR Group began working with Conga on their new headquarters, we noticed something different,” said Casey D. Kent, AIA, workplace leader and senior associate, DLR Group. “They didn’t just say they were an active company, they showed up to meetings on bikes, scooters and long boards.

“When we talked to diverse employees, we learned that they collectively identify as ‘explorers,’” Kent said. “Embracing the Colorado live-hard, play-hard mantra, they wanted a workplace where they choose their own adventure every day, based on their activities and teams.”

The design team wanted to push deeper than the location based “Colorado” theme and instead found the commonality in all the places Conga employees love to explore: geologic processes and features.

“What about exploratory outdoor adventures is so compelling and empowering? How can that feeling be brought into a workplace?” Kent asked. “We uncovered shared geologic characteristics in the places that inspire Conga employees: expansion, contraction, discovery and porosity. This helped the design team deliver a more meaningful workplace, ripe for exploration.”

The palette was a first-generation white space with a single, massive floor plate and high bays meant to accommodate light industrial use.

“First, a bold move begins to define space within the expanse: a meandering path flows through the rectilinear plan,” Kent said. “Next, commanding masses were strategically placed along the path and carved into, creating portals. Repeated vertical elements establish a cadence of movement and draw the eye forward. Finally, geometric armatures form an abstracted forest canopy, floating over the dense central core: a powerful destination where vibrant color, texture, and social energy exude from servery, lounge and active recreation spaces.

Functionally, eight large garage doors invite employees to seamlessly bring their outdoor adventures in. “Throughout the space, opaque, translucent and transparent layers intermingle to create a sense of wonder and intrigue,” he said. “Even the more private software engineering scrum rooms that are tucked away at the western edge have pass-throughs to green indoor parks and transparent walls that invite interaction and observation.”