The gaming scene is growing and with it the US video game developer Gearbox. The company recently expanded to Montréal. The Gearbox Studio there was planned by Patriarche – inspired by virtual worlds, but also by the still quite analogue 90s.
Gearbox? It kind of sounds like a car dealership or garage. After all, the literal translation is ‘gearbox’. Passionate gamers know, however, that behind this company name lies a video game developer based in Texas. The company has made a name for itself in the growing scene as the publisher of the Borderlands series, among other things. The first-person shooter role-playing game, set in a space western scenario, also has a large fan base in Austria. Not least because there is now even a film adaptation starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Jamie Lee Curtis. The action comedy was released in cinemas in August 2024.
But even without Hollywood’s help, Gearbox continued to grow. The company had already expanded to Quebec City in 2015. In 2021, the decision was made to invest 130 million euros to establish a Gearbox studio in Montréal as well. In the Canadian metropolis, which has developed into a major centre of the international video games industry in recent years, 250 new jobs were to be created. And in an architectural setting that allows the local talent to ‘work on the Borderlands series, but also to develop new, original ideas’, says Randy Pitchford, founder of Gearbox Entertainment Company.
Creative hub for the gaming industry
However, creating space for creativity requires more than just office space. Following the success of the first joint project in Quebec City, which won the Grand Prix du Design in the category ‘Interior design, office, creative firm and new technology company’, the planners from Patriarche were once again commissioned to design the new Gearbox Studio. However, a completely new approach had to be taken for Montréal – if only because of the special configuration of the site. The tubular floor plan proved to be a major challenge. How to create different functional areas without creating a feeling of constriction or separation?
The solution lay in an innovative design approach: to create a dynamic environment while providing clear points of orientation and a fluid, intuitive user path, the planners removed dividing walls. Instead, they relied on colour contrasts and varying moods to delineate the different areas. Each zone was designed to fulfil specific requirements – whether for collaboration, concentrated solo brainstorming or simply relaxing. ‘With this functional diversity, our design ensures that every team member can find a space that suits their activities and preferences. This promotes well-being in the workplace – and therefore productivity,’ Patriarche is convinced.
evel-up for the office
On paper, the result is a 3,058 m² studio with 208 open workstations, twelve meeting rooms, eleven creative lounge areas and a cafeteria on one colourful floor. In everyday working life, however, the design presents itself as a level-up of the office interior that breathes the spirit of gaming culture and in which art and design merge. The studio almost looks as if it is part of an iconic video game.
For the Gearbox studio in Montréal, ‘we were inspired by the unique urban energy of the metropolis’, according to the Patriarche team. A key source of inspiration: the abandoned buildings and graffiti in the Vieux Port industrial district, where Gearbox is now based. ‘We integrated elements of street art into the design to reflect the influences of pop culture and the 1990s.’ For example, the gender-neutral signage was inspired by the iconic Mario Bros. video game, with a pixel-like typographic composition. A yellow curtain from a welding workshop, affectionately known as ‘The Shower’, adds an unexpected industrial touch. ‘This unique detail evokes the raw, industrial spirit of a construction site and provides a deliberate contrast to the cosy comfort of the rest of the cafeteria area.’
Nature meets art
Another eye-catcher is the furniture. Here, raw materials meet organic shapes: Stools reminiscent of tree trunks and a solid meeting table with wooden branches as legs bring natural elements into the technology-orientated working day. And that’s not all when it comes to inspiring environmental design. A central element of the design is also the collaboration with the artist Julien Lebargy. A reproduction of his work ‘Bombe Little Boy’, which is on display near the entrance, is intended to raise awareness of contemporary grievances and encourage people to engage with historical themes by reminiscing about the wars of the past.
With its unique combination of art, design and functionality, Gearbox Studio is setting new standards in office architecture for creative industries. The honour for this naturally goes to the architecture firm. However, in the case of Patriarche, one should rather speak of an internationally active competence centre. A centre in which architects, engineers, urban planners, landscape architects, interior designers, UX designers, graphic designers, real estate operators, service providers and many more work together. Patriarche calls itself an ‘agency for augmented architecture’. By this, it means ‘a renewed practice of architecture that aims to integrate all available technical, sociological and scientific knowledge into the design process.’ The architect acts as a mediator in a heterogeneous team and as a translator of the client’s wishes.
Augmented architecture
Speaking of customer wishes: the fact that the Gearbox office in Montreal is now more than just a workplace – an interactive environment that takes up and continues the creative process of game development – is also thanks to the client itself. ‘The client placed their full trust in us and proved to be an exceptional partner who embraced our boldest ideas without hesitation,’ reports Patriarche. ‘This mutual commitment led to a shared vision that resulted in an exceptional workplace.’
Where innovation and originality take centre stage, creative ideas can grow. This has already been demonstrated by the new gaming creations of industry colleagues who have previously placed gaming at the centre of their redesigned working environments. The Istanbul-based Studio Good Job Games for example, or the German computer games developer Ubisoft.
So it will be interesting to see what the development teams at Gearbox come up with next for the growing gamer scene. And whether a small piece of the Montréal studio can be found in it. A yellow shower or a bomb called Little Boy would certainly fit well into the colourful and crazy gaming world of Borderlands …
Text: Daniela Schuster
Bilder: Mano Photographe