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The design of Puppet Labs‘ new headquarters turns the traditional office layout on its head.

No corner offices will exist in the 74,000-square-foot space for the Portland-based tech company, THA Architecture principal Corey Martin said. Instead, all employees will be able to enjoy views from the corners of the fifth and sixth floors of Block 300 in downtown Portland.

“It’s more democratic,” Martin said. “We put all the lounges in the corners where the best view is so that’s open to everyone.”

Swinerton Builders crews last month started work on tenant improvements to provide ample space for the growing information technology software company. When Puppet Labs came to Portland from Nashville, Tenn. five years ago, it had five employees, founder and CEO Luke Kanies said. This fall, he expects between 360 and 380 employees to move into Block 300 from the company’s current headquarters in the Pearl District.

“I wanted a space that would turn into a place where people want to be,” he said. “The traditional office space of white walls (and) cubicle spaces is not where people want to be.”

An intimate space is essential, Kanies said, even for an office vast enough to hold an expanding workforce.

“You’re trying to fight off the feeling of I’m an ant in an anthill,” he said.

Finding a balance between openness and intimacy was one of the trickiest parts of the design process, Martin said.

“(Puppet Labs officials) were really interested in it being open and collaborative, but they wanted to scale it down,” he said. “It’s a giant space, and it’s hard to break it up and make it seem interesting. It’s an attempt to take a classic office and make it way better.”

The design responds to shifting notions of what makes the most comfortable and productive office space.

“There’s a lot going on right now with the world of office philosophy right now,” Martin said. “In the last 10 years, there has been that movement toward open office and there’s now a backlash to that because people are more introverted.”

Puppet Labs’ office layout responds to employees’ desires to feel connected to the larger company while carving out their own space, Martin said. Desks and workspaces will be on the perimeter, with conference rooms and other enclosed spaces in the center arranged in a way that views are maintained.

“We call it the pinwheel scheme,” Martin said. “We shifted the core so you have sightlines all the way through the building. Wherever you are, you can always see through to some other space. Even the solid blocks we have, we broke them up so you can see through.”

The drop ceiling is being removed, and the concrete beams and floor are being exposed. Cavernous spaces will be broken up, and different parts of the office will be defined with removable hemp screens suspended from the ceiling and low planter boxes.

“Those are all changeable so they can play with those screens and planters to get what they want,” Martin said. “It’s all about distances and creating these defined spaces for people – not super defined, but defined enough to feel cozy.”

Puppet Labs corporate headquarters

Location: 308 S.W. Second Ave., Portland

Cost: Undisclosed

Construction start date: June 2014

Anticipated completion date: fall 2014

Building owner: Kaufman Jacobs

Architect: THA Architecture

Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers

General contractor: Swinerton Builders