A place of dreams called Pixar!

The name Pixar has crept closer to my heart as the years have rolled on and the majestic animation studio has dished out one superlative movie after another. For a group that started out in the Computer Division of Lucasfilm (of Star Wars creator George Lucas of course) way back in 1979 and bought later on by a disheveled Steve Jobs in 1986 who had resigned from Apple, Pixar has come a long long way indeed. Now creator of thirteen feature films, innumerable short films, pioneer in the field of animation, and a name known in each household, Pixar is no longer seen only as an animation studio, but as a creator of something bright and beautiful, something moving and touching, something warm and fuzzy. And while all this stems from the highly creative and bold set of people working behind the scenes, what must also drive them is the beautiful setting they work in. The grand headquarters of Pixar at Emeryville, California, USA.

This the grand entrance of Pixar headquarters. Before you sweep down any further, be warned that these photos may make you struggle to reach your own office premises the next day. Self-pity could also envelop you quickly! Getting back to the magic of Pixar, the headquarters at Emeryville was opened in November 2000. Overseen by Steve Jobs himself and driven by his obsession over details, the building along with the campus has been designed in such a way to encourage maximum interaction between employees, especially from different departments. So to encourage such unplanned encounters, there is a vast atrium that invites you once you step in through the doors. 

The main doors are right in front, and an inviting canteen stands to the right side in the photo. No better way to start the day than with a healthy breakfast, right? Oh, did I forget to mention that you would be greeted by smiling cheerful monsters once you enter the gates of the building?

Walk inside, and it is said you are free to decorate your space as you like. As an interview with Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles and Ratatouille, reads, "If you walk around downstairs in the animation area, you’ll see that it is unhinged. People are allowed to create whatever front to their office they want. One guy might build a front that’s like a Western town. Someone else might do something that looks like Hawaii. John [Lasseter] believes that if you have a loose, free kind of atmosphere, it helps creativity." No wonder then that the cabin of John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer at Pixar and one of the key personnel behind Pixar's unequivocal success, at some time looked like this. 

Step away from other offices and take the bridge that reaches your own cubicle, feeling like you are walking above the world all the time.

Or get away from work for a while and try your skill set on the video games or the foosball table; maybe the theme for the next Pixar movie will creep into your mind right then. 

Got tired of being inside? Step out into the lush lawns, take a breather on those stairs, stretch out and feel closer to nature. Or just stare with wonderment. Time after all has slowed! 600-seat outdoor amphitheater, a soccer field and an organic vegetable garden for Pixar's chefs, is what constitutes the exterior campus. 

And then of course you meet the the world's most famous lamp and the star of Luxo Jr, Pixar's first ever short film, playing with his ball. 

And once the sun sets, take a step back, gaze and admire.

I salute the makers of this great animation studio, the vision that they had and the ability to bring it to light. I have scavenged the internet to find pictures of this place, a place which would hold well guarded secrets too, and so I thank the ones who have posted some of these wonderful pictures. I implore people who ever come across this article and aspire to build a company of such repute, that irrespective of the scale of your company, understand the fundamental thinking that has gone behind building a workplace as this, where creativity and joy along with toil are mashed up. And I sleep now with beautiful dreams. I am probably not going to my office tomorrow.