BreakThru Radio: The Strange Case of the Inside-Out Office

A funny thing happened on my way to an interview at BreakThru Radio about Untapped Cities. The entrance to the office building in Chelsea was standard fare, as was the reception area. But the minute you walk onto the office floor, you notice that everything is inside-out (or outside-in, to be exact). The office has its own street system, every door has a light fixture you’d typically find on a suburban house. There’s even a French-style café.

French-style cafe in the inside-out offices of BreakThru Radio, reminiscent me of the candy shop inside 77 Water Street as shown by ScoutingNY.

This office, run by Select Office Suites, is a unique spin on the old business center model, where many small companies work out of one space with shared amenities and support staff. Angela Olivo, co-founder and COO of Select Office Suites, aimed to create a sense of community, not unlike in a town, which is reflected in the architecture. In fact, the tenants, like BreakThru Radio are referred to as “residents” and the lounge areas look like a pre-cursor to hip co-working spaces like General Assembly.

Hallway “streets” at Select Office Suites in Chelsea, note that the windows also have grilles.

Here are the many “streets” in the Select Office Suites, taking you from Paris to New Orleans to London and more.

BreakThru Radio (BTR), the reason I was in the Chelsea office, fits well into this office environment because their company structure requires a certain amount of work mobility. As an online platform with radio, video and editorial content, BreakThru Radio doesn’t require everyone to be in a standard office environment every day. Says DJ Margaret Jacobi, “Some people only work from home. Editorial and video are in the office the most. We have DJs all over, not everyone actually uses this studio.”

BreakThru Radio’s mission is to give a voice to talented, upcoming artists and to empower DJs to pick and play their own music. Their only requirement is quality, and they are equal opportunity to any style. Their content is based on weekly themes and I happened to be visiting during Biology Week. Says DJ Margaret, “There was a funny article about the biggest penises of the Animal Kingdom. There are also serious articles about environmental issues. I wrote my first article here on Bitcoin.”

The BreakThru Radio team is fun and quirky and the wall is free game for napkin art, comic strips or vintage pin-up girls. One guy insisted on working standing up. Chinese food was on the menu and one guy demonstrated his “food baby” while I photographed.

Check out the great content on BreakThru Radio if you haven’t heard of them yet!