The Biggest, Most Insane Office Desk You've Ever Seen

Sitting at the same desk as every colleague in your company would probably be a nightmare, unless you're lucky enough to work at The Barbarian Group. The renowned New York-based interactive marketing firm used their move to a new office space as an excuse to build the Superdesk, an unbroken, rippling behemoth of a desk that wraps all the way around the open loft space, and can seat hundreds. We had to stop by to check it out.

With help from the architect Clive Wilkinson, the whole thing was fabricated in Los Angeles using old school giant-armed auto manufacturing machines. And interestingly, it was actually less expensive to build and install than boring ol' cubicles would have been.

The reason for its amorphous shape is part and parcel to the goal of the setup — which, according to co-founders Benjamin Palmer (left) and Keith Butters (right) — was to get everyone sitting at one desk, in a manner that kept individual teams logically grouped together.

And it's entirely in keeping with the brand's mission to break the mold and keep things fresh, something they've been up to in the digital advertising and marketing space since 2001. They've become darlings in the industry by creating and executing intensely creative and groundbreaking viral marketing campaigns for a roster of high-profile clients like Pepsi, Samsung, and Burger King. Remember The Subservient Chicken? That was them.

There are a handful of passageways between sections that serve as convenient touchdown spaces for comfortable, impromptu meetings. The domed structure overhead actually helps keep conversations private and contained underneath.

And while the knockout of a desk is certainly the focal point, there's plenty to appreciate beyond (and inside) it.

For example, dozens of cubbies stuffed with a random assortment of books, objects, and select products from brands they've worked with...

...including a true unicorn: a glass bottle six-pack of unopened Crystal Pepsi.

Nothing like a comfy in-office bar to keep those creative juices flowing.

This eye-catching neon sign is an homage to Barbarian's unofficial brand slogan "It's Gonna Be Awesome" which, by the way, they had trademarked. Seriously.

And in keeping with the creative energy oozing from the place, a bowl of LEGOs from the Architecture Series.

Even the conference rooms inspire unique work, as each is named for a different David Bowie album. And the table in this one was actually built by the former CFO's brother.

Feeling the office envy yet?


Joe McGauley is a senior editor at Supercompressor and would be more than fine with Crystal Pepsi coming back.