Crusoe

Crusoe, a startup of environmentally minded energy innovators, envisioned a workplace that would do more than house its growing team. It needed to physically embody the company’s mission by aligning the future of computing with the future of climate. The design challenge was to translate Crusoe’s ambitious, highly technical work into a spatial experience that felt human, inspiring, and deeply connected to the company’s core values.

Agency

Practice Area

Client

Crusoe

Industry

The Challenge

Crusoe’s workplace boldly showcases the firm’s adventurous ethos and commitment to sustainable computing with a holistic narrative and design that communicates the company’s mission and values to clients, partners, and prospective employees at every step. The headquarters inspires, connects, and supports its people, positioning the company as a forward-thinking industry leader. The result is increased talent attraction and retention, and a stronger, more cohesive organizational identity.

Project Vision

Every design decision was driven by narrative, ensuring that the workplace consistently reflects Crusoe’s mission, values, and culture. The result is a branded environment that connects people to purpose, creates a memorable and motivating daily experience, and supports the client’s objective of attracting, inspiring, and aligning a growing team around the urgent challenge of sustainable computing.

A custom tubular light fixture traces primary circulation paths, activating the office core while subtly guiding movement and reinforcing momentum, connectivity, and energy throughout the workplace.

Jason O’Rear

A shadowy “To the Moon” graphic offers an optimistic wink to Crusoe culture—an informal signal of encouragement, ambition, and the belief that bold ideas can achieve the improbable.

Jason O’Rear

Design + Execution

Crusoe’s values are not just referenced; they are made tangible. The value “Think Like a Mountaineer” is expressed through a custom installation composed of authentic climbing equipment, carefully arranged to form the Crusoe logo. More than a sculptural moment, the installation reflects the mindset shared by both mountaineers and Crusoe engineers: strategic preparation, disciplined use of tools, and calculated risk in pursuit of ambitious goals. Positioned within the workplace, it acts as both a brand marker and a cultural touchstone, reinforcing shared identity.

This metaphor continues in an installation that visualizes Crusoe’s environmental mission. A series of climbing ropes, knots, and carabiners represents rising atmospheric carbon levels over time. As the ropes progress, the final lengths are intentionally left unfinished—inviting future knots to be added as Crusoe advances its carbon-reduction efforts. This evolving installation connects abstract climate data to a physical and emotional experience, reminding employees that their daily work directly affects global outcomes. It transforms sustainability from a concept into a lived, visible responsibility.

An abstract floor graphic in the dining area references Crusoe’s origins in cryptocurrency, embedding company history into everyday gathering spaces and sparking conversation through material storytelling.

Jason O’Rear

An installation of climbing ropes and hardware visualizes rising atmospheric carbon levels, serving as both a spatial divider and a powerful reminder of Crusoe’s mission to reduce energy waste.

Gensler

Knots, carabiners, and floor graphics mark specific carbon measurement dates, transforming data into a tactile, evolving narrative that connects daily work to long-term environmental impact.

Gensler

A floor-based company timeline guides circulation while wall graphics inspired by bicycle spokes integrate bike storage, blending sustainability, movement, and storytelling into a functional corridor.

Jason O’Rear

A colorful paddle installation reinforces the value “Cultivate an Idea Meritocracy,” celebrating collaboration, diverse perspectives, and the belief that the best ideas can come from anywhere.

Jason O’Rear

  1. The Crusoe logo, constructed from real climbing equipment, transforms a core value into a physical artifact

  2. A custom tubular light fixture traces primary circulation paths, activating the office core while subtly guiding movement and reinforcing momentum, connectivity, and energy throughout the workplace.

  3. A shadowy “To the Moon” graphic offers an optimistic wink to Crusoe culture—an informal signal of encouragement, ambition, and the belief that bold ideas can achieve the improbable.

  4. A floor-based company timeline guides circulation while wall graphics inspired by bicycle spokes integrate bike storage, blending sustainability, movement, and storytelling into a functional corridor.

  5. A colorful paddle installation reinforces the value “Cultivate an Idea Meritocracy,” celebrating collaboration, diverse perspectives, and the belief that the best ideas can come from anywhere.

Project Details
A brilliantly executed branded environment through the use of data and materiality that fosters a heightened sense of identity in the workplace. A simple approach to a highly effective brand storytelling seamlessly integrates with the interiors and architecture
Juror 1
I really enjoyed the curation of objects that both portrayed elements of Crusoe's narrative while also creating a cohesive, vibrant, action oriented environment. The physical installations and subtle information embedded throughout combined to embody the company's mission while creating an inviting workplace.
Juror 2
Design Team

Michelle Liebling (principal-in-charge)
Glenna Tyndall (design manager)
Ronnie Leone (designer)
Abigail Parr (project architect)
Sarah Harrison (brand designer)
Chris Fato (brand technical designer)

Collaborators

Projex (fabrication)

Photo Credits

Jason O’Rear, copyright Jason O’Rear (photography)

Open Date

August 2024

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