Writing about Austin tech companies gives us the opportunity to explore a lot of cool office spaces across the city. So, as 2017 winds down, we took a moment to browse through all of the "Office Envy" articles we published so far this year.
Here is a roundup of the coolest spaces we visited in 2017.
LZR
The popular concert venue formerly known as La Zona Rosa was rebranded in November as LZR. The venue, where artists including Prince, Adele and Amy Winehouse have performed, has been remodeled into a 10,000-square-foot space with a lounge, bar and a small stage. It's also home to Vast, a big data analytics company used by big auto and real estate businesses. Vast CEO John Price is also a partner in the LZR project, along with Nate Paul, CEO of holding and management company World Class.
See more photos of LZR's events and office space here.
After years in a relatively nondescript office building in North Austin, Google has moved its Austin offices to a brand new high rise downtown on 2nd and Nueces downtown. The 300,000-square-foot space is spread across several floors. The company has about 450 employees there. The Austin teams are working with Android, G Suite, Google Play, people operations, finance, engineering and marketing.
Check out photos from inside Google's downtown Austin offices.
uShip
In August, we got a peek inside uShip's new headquarters on Riverside, just east of Congress Ave. The startup, which had recently received a new round of funding, repurposed an abandoned vocational school building. Being a shipping logistics company, the company is using big, redesigned shipping containers as conference rooms. The startup, founded in 2004, has about 220 employees.
See photos from inside uShip's new digs.
Impact Hub Austin (AKA: Vuka North)
Vuka, the coworking and events space that started on Monroe and South 1st Street, opened its doors in January to a new, 12,000-square-foot space on North Lamar near Koenig Lane. It has 13 private coworking offices and 26 dedicated desks. And it was home to Austin Inno's 50 on Fire party. The building used to be home to the Texas State Troopers Association.
Take a look around Impact Hub's North Lamar location.
Volusion
At Volusion, Fridays start with bringing your dog to work (if you'd like), followed by breakfast tacos and, later, beers. The e-commerce software company's office is in North Austin near several relatively new breweries. The startup has about 250 employees.
Learn more about Volusion's office and company culture.
Facebook has had offices in downtown Austin since 2010. The social media giant's Austin headcount has since grown from fewer than 200 employees to more than 700, and the company opened up a downtown Austin office to accommodate growth. And the new digs are stacked with an awesome kitchen/restaurant, lovely downtown views and plenty of Austin flair.
See more photos from inside Facebook's downtown Austin office.
Opcity
When it comes to fast growth, there are few startups in town that compare to Opcity. The real estate software and services startup has been hiring at a rapid pace -- and that's part of why it has had to move offices several times. Now, the company has an HQ to last for a while. In November, the company moved to an expansive former Lockheed & Martin building in southeast Austin. The 50,000-square-foot space includes multiple kitchens, locker rooms for men and women and a putt-putt area.
