Secret Room at Pixar Animation Studio

The Lucky 7 Lounge is the secret room in the Pixar office that many have dreamed of getting into.

The story of the room began unexpectedly. Pixar has moved to a new refurbished office. And Andrew Gordon, one of the company’s animators, noticed in his room behind the furniture small square doors, 40-45 cm high. Opening them, he saw a tunnel formed by the sleeve of the ventilation system of the building.

Andrew knelt on the ventilation tunnel and saw at the end a small room, with several ventilation sleeves inside. The room turned out to be an artificial niche created through the roundness of the building; only a few ventilation ducts were led through it. Of course, there were no windows or doors in the room. You could get inside only on your knees through the passage found by Andrew.

Andrew immediately decided to decorate the room with garlands, and over time he slipped the furniture into an unassembled form, set up a bar, and told his friends about it.



They spent a lot of time in their secret room. To prevent management from finding out, a hidden camera was installed in the hallway that led to Andrew’s room, which broadcast everything that happened in the office.

But over time, Andrew Stanton, one of the leaders of Pixar, found out about the room, and unexpectedly for Gordon, he praised him for his wonderful find and how he managed it. I liked the room and Steve Jobs - the then owner of the studio.

Subsequently, the studio released a short animated film in which Andrew spoke about the history of the room:



Later the room was modified. It was already possible to get into it through a new, more convenient entrance, which opened behind a sliding bookcase.



In Steve Jobs's biographical book , written by Walter Isaacson , the room is referred to as The Love Lounge. Many famous people of her time visited her. Pictured below is Andrew Gordon at the Salon of the Happy Seven, along with Academy Award nominees for short animated films:



Would you like to have such a secret room in your office? How would this contribute to the work?

Bonus: Inside Pixar Animation Studios (see 0:45 - 1:25)

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