Today’s liveable workspaces are designed with a holistic approach, delivering design that embodies a company’s core values and improves employee well-being and productivity. That doesn’t mean they don’t look cool, though. Here are some of the best, fun, quirky and perk-filled offices around the world.
The Centre for Social Innovation, an “incubator for social change” (read: co-working with a conscience) in New York, asked Matthew Cohen Design Collective to transform their 2,000sqm Chelsea loft space. The designers mainly reused existing materials, many of which have a deep history, all of which were sourced within the NYC area, creating a vintage feel that resonates deeply with users who saw the space gradually evolving around them.
For the design of business-to-business platform Tradeshift‘s San Francisco offices, IDF Studio took some cues from the CEO’s Danish background – then added a dash of California cool. The open space features lots of natural materials and is furnished with design classics, but the eye is drawn to the colourful murals by graffiti artist The Art of Chase.
CPP, publishers of the Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment didn’t just move to a new space, they wanted to completely transform their attitude to work, their physical environment and their brand. Instead of making a drastic change, Design Blitz took a hybrid approach, supporting a certain need for privacy and isolation while also opening up the entire culture. [Photo: Blitz]
Instead of simply offering in-house catering to its occupants, the Claisebrook Design Community in Perth invites the community to enter their café and coworking space from the street, creating an openness that goes beyond the office floor plan. The industrial past of the building remains visible, as the space has been reinterpreted by CODA Studio as a contemporary factory for ideas. [Photos: Peter Bennetts]
Siren Design turned part of a heritage-listed brewery into an office home for globetrotters. Lonely Planet‘s new Melbourne office inspires visitors to travel – with areas evoking destinations covered by the company’s famous guides at every turn. However, the staff’s wanderlust is appeased in a comfortable, inviting space dominated by natural materials, lots of light and plenty of green.
The design for the Melbourne studio of Woods Bagot was based on staff feedback. Those who would be working in the space expressed a desire for collaborative work as well as social interactions. These timber steps are situated between the main staff lunch area, formal and informal workspaces, serving the practical purpose of connecting two floors, but can also be used as assembly space, auditorium and social hangout.
Breaking with traditional workplace allocation, where those at the top of the pecking order get the desk with the best view, design firm JIDK ensured all Placemeter staff got access to the best seat in the house. The living room-style lounge occupies the nicest, brightest spot in the data platform’s long, narrow Manhattan office. [Photo: Peter Kubilus]
Employees are encouraged to feel right at home in all these liveable workplaces, but in the offices of pet insurance company PetSure, their four-legged friends also need to feel welcome. Sydney-based Bold Collective took both human and furball needs into account with kennel inspired meeting spaces, cat enclosures and a pet lounge area. [Photo: Andrew Worrsam]
PENSON, a global architecture and design studio with offices in London, New York and Beijing, recreated an exaggerated version of interiors most British Google employees will recognise. At the tech giant’s London headquarters, workers are greeted by a wall of Union Jacks, can lounge on upholstery reminiscent of their local pub, or hold meetings in a room wallpapered just like their granny’s best bedroom.
Google Campus Madrid, the sixth co-working space founded by the web giant, occupies a sprawling converted factory offering workspace to around 7,000 members. The interior design by London-based Jump Studios prevents the scale of the building from being overwhelming. The light-flooded space is dotted with cosy lounge areas, intimate booths and “upholstered nooks” for private meetings.
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