Muzak Pleasanton, California, USA Muzak, a company that started in 1934 by providing background music inside elevators, grew rapidly since the 1940's. However the company name became synonymous as ‘bad elevator music supplier,’ an image that had adhered until 1997 when the company undertook an overhaul to re-brand itself and later in 2000 relocated its headquarters from Seattle to North Carolina. Presently the company has two core lines of business, one being 'music architecture,' or broadcasting background music specially designed for targeted customers in retail stores, restaurants and gyms, while the other is ‘voice’ department, or information announced by a special voice inside shops or over telephone. Clients include big names in clothing and food service retailers. The service locations count as many as 325,000, and the number of listeners is reported to be over 100 million per day. The building selected for the new headquarters was an old warehouse building with 100,000 ft2. of floor space. To welcome the 80 percent of the employees who have relocated from various cities around the country, their rich urban experiences were recreated as part of the new concept of ‘City in a Box.’ Like an old Italian city, different communities surround the central plaza in the middle of the building. To restructure the hierarchic organization, the floor plan was kept entirely open, with neighborhoods of different divisions. With the exception of confidential departments such as HR, every worker including the CEO was given a workstation of equal size. Orientation is clear and simple as each section is made of four different building materials of wood, plastic, brick and metal. The zoning within the open plan is identified by the use of exclusive elements, such as carpet for workspace and concrete for the hallway.           Location: Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA     Move-In Date: 2000     Floor Area: 100,000 ft2 approx. 9,300 m2     Workforce: 300     Architecture Design: Pentagram Architecture     Interior Design: Little & Associates Architecture     Interview Date: 2003.6