Bursting at the seams of its original offices, ActiveCampaign has relocated its headquarters to a historic 52,000 square foot building in downtown Chicago to accommodate its growing success in the marketing automation world. Eastlake Studio completed the headquarters design for software company ActiveCampaign, located in Chicago, Illinois.

In less than two years, marketing software company ActiveCampaign quadrupled its staff, becoming a buzzworthy name in the tech industry and one of the fastest growing companies in Chicago. CEO & Founder Jason VandeBoom envisioned a new office that was truly employee-centric; with flexible open workspace, social meeting areas, and quiet work rooms; giving employees options on how and where to work. ActiveCampaign aimed to avoid the monotony of a large corporate office, and worked with Eastlake to visualize a warm, energetic office space that embodies the company culture.

The location of the new headquarters, a 52,000 square foot single floor office in the hundred-year-old One North Dearborn building, gave Eastlake Studio the opportunity to bring ActiveCampaign’s unique vision to life. Original crown molding and large windows hint at the history of the building, while new elements revolve around a theme of rustic, industrial materials, along with references to ActiveCampaign’s fantasy and sci-fi loving nerd culture.

Colorful LED lights and textured paneling enhance a whopping 57 conference rooms, named by ActiveCampaign employees after fictitious locations from comic books, video games, movies and novels. Coined the “sad space” by VandeBoom early in the design process, a remote, alley-facing, dark area of the office was transformed by Eastlake into a shelf-lined game room and leisure area with the feel of a vintage club. In the aptly named Knowhere, one bookshelf doubles as revolving door, hiding a “speakeasy” style lounge for all of those happy hour strategy sessions.

Designer: Eastlake Studio
Photography: Steve Hall and Kendall McCaugherty, Hall + Merrick Photographers