Image courtesy of Sasaki.

Many tech companies gravitate to converted industrial spaces with sprawling floor plates that lend themselves to open-format workspaces. That wasn’t an option for Cambridge-based Internet giant Akamai, though, after committing to a 19-story build-to-suit office tower to replace its five of its six Kendall Square office buildings.

Architects Sasaki were mindful of the challenge as they designed interiors for the 480,000-square-foot tower at 145 Broadway, which will enable Akamai to consolidate its local workforce and another 700 future hires under one roof.

“One of the big questions was: instead of being disconnected horizontally across Kendall Square, are we going to be disconnected vertically on 19 floors?” said Victor Vizgaitis, a principal at Watertown-based Sakaki. “How do we get the person on the 12th floor to talk to the person on the third floor?”

Sasaki’s solution: the “Aka-Mile,” a network of pathways and staircases that meander past common areas such as conference rooms, cafes and libraries before spilling out at the 19th-floor “Megabytes” cafeteria. The route will function as an indoor Main Street through the new headquarters, while preserving quiet areas elsewhere on each floor for workspaces with minimal distractions.

Prominent connecting staircases – a popular feature in new office buildings – run as wide as 35 feet in some areas, where they can double as seating areas for presentations and company events. The “Aka-Mile” nickname came from discussions with company executives, reflecting the route’s length just shy of 5,280 feet. Along with its collaborative benefits, it doubles as a fitness perk given many employers’ emphasis on physical activity in the workspace, Vizgaitis said.

Akamai which had $616 million in 2016 revenues currently leases 490,000 square feet in six Kendall Square office buildings. It will continue to occupy its existing headquarters at 150 Broadway following completion of the new tower in 2019.