Design‑Forward HQs Trend
What happened
First Round Capital launched a video series highlighting company HQs and kicked off with Notion’s warm, wood‑toned San Francisco office as an example of design‑forward space. (x.com) The focus on atmosphere and collaboration provides a useful comp when pitching recruiting‑oriented tech tenants who value branded, candidate‑facing workplaces. (x.com)
Why it matters
A venture firm just turned office touring into content, and it picked a software company’s San Francisco headquarters as episode one. First Round’s new “In Office” series opened with Notion’s headquarters, framing the workplace itself as part of the company story. (firstround.com, youtube.com) That choice lands in a market where headquarters are no longer just rows of desks and conference rooms. Notion is hiring across San Francisco, New York, Dublin, Hyderabad, Tokyo, Seoul, and Sydney, and its careers page says the company is “growing faster than ever,” which turns office design into a recruiting surface, not just a facilities expense. (notion.com) Notion is also betting real money on the headquarters idea. In November 2024, the company signed a 10-year lease for about 105,000 square feet at 685 Market Street in San Francisco’s Financial District, taking five floors in the historic Monadnock Building through 2034. (therealdeal.com) That building choice says as much as the square footage. The Monadnock Building dates to 1907, sits near Market and Third streets, and had been mostly empty since Uber put it up for sublease in 2019, so a design-led tenant gets both a downtown address and a built-in before-and-after story. (therealdeal.com) Inside the company, the office is being treated like a product with an operating manual. Notion’s April 2026 job posting for an Americas Workplace Lead says the company is “in-person” across its global offices and wants a “distinctly-Notion workplace experience” with hospitality, meeting room quality, rituals, and what it calls “magical moments.” (jobs.ashbyhq.com) That is a broader shift in office strategy. CBRE’s 2025 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey found 72% of companies said they were meeting office-attendance goals, up from 61% the year before, which means more employers are now trying to make the office worth showing up for instead of merely requiring it. (cbre.com) Design is moving to the center of that pitch. JLL’s workplace research says companies are focusing on recruiting and retaining staff through workplace design, and its 2025 design outlook says employers are planning more investment in space design and refurbishment as return-to-office policies harden into long-term habits. (jll.com, brigholme.com) San Francisco gives this trend extra force because the city still has a lot of empty office space. The San Francisco metro’s office occupancy was 44.8% in January 2025, according to Kastle data cited by Axios, so landlords and brokers are competing for tenants that want fewer square feet but better square feet. (axios.com, kastle.com) That is why a warm, branded headquarters travels so well online. A polished office tour does two jobs at once: it helps a company sell candidates on culture, and it gives landlords, brokers, and investors a concrete example of the kind of space a modern tech tenant will still pay for. (youtube.com, jobs.ashbyhq.com) The old office pitch was square footage, rent, and a list of amenities in the lobby. The new pitch is whether a candidate can walk in, spend eight hours there, and immediately understand what kind of company works behind the front door. (cbre.com, jll.com)
Key numbers
- In November 2024, the company signed a 10-year lease for about 105,000 square feet at 685 Market Street in San Francisco’s Financial District, taking five floors in the historic Monadnock Building through 2034.
- The Monadnock Building dates to 1907, sits near Market and Third streets, and had been mostly empty since Uber put it up for sublease in 2019, so a design-led tenant gets both a downtown address and a built-in before-and-after story.
- The San Francisco metro’s office occupancy was 44.8% in January 2025, according to Kastle data cited by Axios, so landlords and brokers are competing for tenants that want fewer square feet but better square feet.
What happens next
- A polished office tour does two jobs at once: it helps a company sell candidates on culture, and it gives landlords, brokers, and investors a concrete example of the kind of space a modern tech tenant will still pay for.
Quick answers
What happened in Design‑Forward HQs Trend?
First Round Capital launched a video series highlighting company HQs and kicked off with Notion’s warm, wood‑toned San Francisco office as an example of design‑forward space. (x.com) The focus on atmosphere and collaboration provides a useful comp when pitching recruiting‑oriented tech tenants who value branded, candidate‑facing workplaces. (x.com)
Why does Design‑Forward HQs Trend matter?
A venture firm just turned office touring into content, and it picked a software company’s San Francisco headquarters as episode one. First Round’s new “In Office” series opened with Notion’s headquarters, framing the workplace itself as part of the company story. (firstround.com, youtube.com) That choice lands in a market where headquarters are no longer just rows of desks and conference rooms. Notion is hiring across San Francisco, New York, Dublin, Hyderabad, Tokyo, Seoul, and Sydney, and its careers page says the company is “growing faster than ever,” which turns office design into a recruiting surface, not just a facilities expense. (notion.com) Notion is also betting real money on the headquarters idea. In November 2024, the company signed a 10-year lease for about 105,000 square feet at 685 Market Street in San Francisco’s Financial District, taking five floors in the historic Monadnock Building through 2034. (therealdeal.com) That building choice says as much as the square footage. The Monadnock Building dates to 1907, sits near Market and Third streets, and had been mostly empty since Uber put it up for sublease in 2019, so a design-led tenant gets both a downtown address and a built-in before-and-after story. (therealdeal.com) Inside the company, the office is being treated like a product with an operating manual. Notion’s April 2026 job posting for an Americas Workplace Lead says the company is “in-person” across its global offices and wants a “distinctly-Notion workplace experience” with hospitality, meeting room quality, rituals, and what it calls “magical moments.” (jobs.ashbyhq.com) That is a broader shift in office strategy. CBRE’s 2025 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey found 72% of companies said they were meeting office-attendance goals, up from 61% the year before, which means more employers are now trying to make the office worth showing up for instead of merely requiring it. (cbre.com) Design is moving to the center of that pitch. JLL’s workplace research says companies are focusing on recruiting and retaining staff through workplace design, and its 2025 design outlook says employers are planning more investment in space design and refurbishment as return-to-office policies harden into long-term habits. (jll.com, brigholme.com) San Francisco gives this trend extra force because the city still has a lot of empty office space. The San Francisco metro’s office occupancy was 44.8% in January 2025, according to Kastle data cited by Axios, so landlords and brokers are competing for tenants that want fewer square feet but better square feet. (axios.com, kastle.com) That is why a warm, branded headquarters travels so well online. A polished office tour does two jobs at once: it helps a company sell candidates on culture, and it gives landlords, brokers, and investors a concrete example of the kind of space a modern tech tenant will still pay for. (youtube.com, jobs.ashbyhq.com) The old office pitch was square footage, rent, and a list of amenities in the lobby. The new pitch is whether a candidate can walk in, spend eight hours there, and immediately understand what kind of company works behind the front door. (cbre.com, jll.com)
