Canva is opening a ‘flagship campus’ in Sydney
Graphic design solution Canva is opening a “flagship campus” in Sydney in 2026.
The announcement:
As we look towards the next decade of empowering the world to design, we’re excited to continue growing our team to deliver on our ambitious goals. Last year saw us welcome 1,128 new Canvanauts, bringing our global team to more than 4,000 people.
As we grow, we’re also expanding our physical spaces to continue creating a hybrid environment where everyone at Canva is empowered to do the best work of their lives. This past year saw us open a number of new campuses across the globe, including in Austin and Melbourne, and our first European campus in London.
Towards the end of last year, we also made our first real estate purchase in Sydney, acquiring a 12,000 m2 office building in Surry Hills just minutes from where we first started Canva ten years ago. Since then, we’ve been working with our team and the local community to bring our vision for this space to life.
Today, we’re excited to share a sneak peek of what will become our flagship campus in the heart of Sydney. Set to open in 2026, the space will support our continued growth as we double down on fuelling visual communication in teams and workplaces around the world.
Designing a space with our values in mind
One of our values at Canva is to be a force for good which includes the way we design and use our spaces around the world. Over the last decade, we’ve intentionally created spaces where our team and community can connect while also bringing this value to life.
While we’ve embraced a hybrid way of working, we regularly hear from our team about how much they value the connection and collaboration that’s made possible with our physical spaces. Despite not having any strict requirements around working from a physical Canva space, we’re proud to see the majority of our team choosing to work from our campuses and hubs. Today in Sydney, more than half of our team uses our campus at least once a week, with a quarter coming in at least twice a week.
A big part of being a force for good is taking our responsibility to sustainability seriously. We’re taking a “do more with less” philosophy to the overall design of this new campus by aiming to reuse the existing building as much as possible, and only rebuild where necessary to meet current standards or optimize sustainability. We’re disconnecting gas, powering all energy usage with renewable electricity, and introducing a green roof to foster biodiversity and generate green energy.
Promoting and nurturing connection with local communities has also been an important part of how we’ve designed our existing spaces. To continue this, our new Sydney Campus will feature various communal areas for cafes, bars, outdoor spaces, events, volunteering, and collaborative work with the goal of bringing our teams and community together. We also plan to create child-friendly zones, replace 55 car spaces with a gym, bike parking, e-charging stations, and end-of-trip facilities, and build wellness areas for fitness and meditation.
Giving back to our local community
We’re proud of our Surry Hills roots, and it’s a big part of why we’re excited to remain in Surry Hills. It’s where we opened our first office in 2012, and we’re looking forward to staying part of the local community.
From hosting design workshops to providing nonprofits and social enterprises with event spaces and catering free of charge, we’ll continue to open our doors to the public. The planned rooftop garden will also supply produce for our hospitality program, including meals for our team and local nonprofit organizations.
Reflecting Australia’s Indigenous culture has also been a key focus in the design of each of our spaces. As we work through the construction phase of this new campus, we’re spending time learning from members of First Nations communities, including the team at Indigenous design consultancy Yerrabingin, to ensure we’re using First Nations principles to inform the design of the space. We also plan on filling the campus walls with murals and works from local galleries, including First Nations artists.
We trust our team to determine the best work environment for them and their goals. Flexibility plays an enormous role in enabling Canvanauts to build the best product for our community and design their weeks around what works best for them and their families.
We balance this with creating regular moments for meaningful in-person and online connections. These include regularly celebrating goals we’ve achieved, meeting teammates through our social and fitness clubs, or volunteering together in local communities. We’re excited to reflect this balance of flexibility and connection in our design of the campus with spaces designed specifically for collaboration and team events.
Looking ahead to 2026
Our first decade was momentous – and the next one will be even bigger. Our flagship Sydney Campus will support our growth as our team expands, our global community multiplies at record-breaking rates, and we continue to supercharge visual communication for workplaces across the globe.
You can expect to hear more about our flagship Sydney Campus as we bring our vision to life.
Source: Canva
