By Tucker Hughes

Anduril Industries is a different kind of defense technology company. Anduril builds creative cost-effective technology that aids those who serve on the front lines defending the nation and its interests. The company’s approach is to innovate fast, with the best talent, funding their own product development, and only sell it when it’s ready. Anduril’s core technology includes artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, sensor fusion and the application at the front lines of operations. They focus on applying their technology to defense, law enforcement and the securing of critical infrastructure.

Founded by Palmer Luckey, who previously founded and sold Oculus to Facebook for $2 billion, and joined by co-founders Brian Schimpf, Trae Stephens, and Matt Grimm, who come from senior positions at Palantir, and Joe Chen, who previously was product lead at Oculus, Anduril’s team has grown into a 100+ person organization with offices both in Orange County, CA, and Washington, D.C.

Earlier this summer, Anduril moved into its brand new 155,000 square foot corporate headquarters, located in Irvine at 2722 Michelson.

Anduril’s move into their new home marked the conclusion of over a year-long process of securing the perfect building to support their growing team of technologists, and the final space is one of the most cutting-edge and innovative workspaces in the region.

Reportedly the largest office lease signed in 2018 countywide, a project of this scale requires a massive amount of strategy, design and coordination, which Hughes Marino was proud to lead.

The project kickoff began with a thorough quantification of Anduril’s space needs, followed by identifying the prospective buildings that could be modified to fit the company’s very specialized space requirements. Thereafter, complex economic and legal negotiations ensued with a number of different property owners that were vying for Anduril’s tenancy at their respective buildings. Once terms were agreed upon, the parties worked through lease document negotiations, and then ultimately into design, permitting, construction, and finally, with the move into the completed space.

The new workspace features a large “mess hall” where the team gathers for meals, plus a virtual reality room, gym, showers and plenty of outdoor work areas. Throughout the space one can see Anduril’s creative mindset in physical form with an aesthetic that encourages collaboration and workplace efficiency that fits their unique needs.

“Our goal was to find a space in Orange County that would allow us to house all facets of our company with space to grow,” said Matt Grimm, Anduril Industries’ COO. “The blank slate allowed us to create a space that is both functional and attractive to today’s tech talent.”

Prior to being transformed by LBA Realty into a state-of-the-art creative office building, the space was formerly occupied by St. John Knits.

Given Anduril’s unique operation, we knew at the onset of the project that one of the challenges would be blending the creative office components with functional work areas for technology development. A project like this one would not have come together so successfully without the help of many world-class consultants, which we helped hire and manage to ensure Anduril’s space was delivered on time and on budget.

As more high-growth companies select Orange County as their home, Anduril’s presence will undoubtedly serve as an additional catalyst to attracting world-class businesses and entrepreneurs to the area.

Congratulations to Anduril Industries and their team on all of their success, as well as on their amazing new corporate headquarters!

Architect & Designer: IA Interior Architects

Contractor: Driver SPG

Furniture: Catalyst Office, Steelcase