About this project

How do you design to promote innovation? How can we get it done faster? How do we build in flexibility and plan for change? These were some of the fundamental questions in the minds of the nascent Uber research center team when this project began. By the time the international press announced the creation of the Uber Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh, Uber was already well underway with their autonomous vehicle research operations.

Uber began working with Strada over a year earlier to study industrial properties in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, and come up with a design solution to insert their offices, auto shop, and machine shop into an existing concrete block warehouse. Over the course of the design process, the team grew to include designers, engineers, contractors, and the client who worked together to craft a combination of individual think tanks and relaxation zones for the engineering teams, with everything organized around the core of their activity, the work shop. The 98,600-SF facility is now fully occupied by Uber. From this vastly transformed building, the company enjoys a view of a river, while inside they push forward on the future of transportation.