The Red Bull Space

It seems like the collaborative economy concept is beginning to catch on in many companies today.  We can see evidence of this in London's Red Bull office, where the designer of the office had the employees in mind in choosing the location and designing its interiors.  From what is shown in the video, the office has a lot of open spaces and collaborative stations, making it the ideal collaborative working environment.  

In terms of the design, I feel that the designers did a really good job maintaining the vintage look by keeping the brick walls in its original state.  I also like how modern furnitures and working spaces were incorporated into the office to give it a more trendy feel.  It feels like coming to work in the set of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

How about you?  What do you think of when you see the interiors of this office? Are there anything particular that reminds you about this office?

The 2030 Office...must watch!

Gone will be the day when humans need paper and keyboard to do work in the office.  Soon, humans will be able to do all office work using a thin tablet of glass.  Such advancement will eliminate the clutter and tight spaces that we usually find in many corporate offices in the world today.  The implementation of such technology may improve employee productivity and satisfaction, as clean and organized environment tend to alleviate stress and confusion. 

 I hope I will still be alive to see the day when everything is made out of glass.  In your opinion, do you think replacing paper with glass will actually make work life better? 

New Age of offices

It seems like more and more people today are shifting their jobs from the traditional office to the coffee shop.  As many coffee shops like Starbucks and Second Cup are now providing charging stations and free Wi-Fi, many young professionals can now be seen congregating and doing projects inside the coffee shop.  This coffee shop exodus might be attributed to the increasing mobility of work, as technology has now allowed work to be taken out of the office.  All you need is a laptop and Wi-Fi and you are set to go.  It is also a great place to build networks, as coffee shops don't contain the same corporate layout of cubicles and private rooms, thus allowing individuals to easily build connections with other professionals.  Maybe we will hear the term coffices (coffee shop + office) more often.  What do you think?

 

Smart use of space

With expensive real estate and very little spaces available in many cities today, employers must be able to think of ways to be economical in their use of space to overcome such problems.  This intelligent use of space has been demonstrated by this small company in Heldergroen Netherlands, as the office is transformed into many different functions throughout the day.  As shown in the video, this office becomes a gym; working space; dining room; meeting space; party space and much more.  The flexibility of the furnitures and the ingenious retractable table makes it easy for the business team to accommodate activities that occur throughout the day.  This concept not only makes space economical, but also keeps business costs low with only one space to rent for many types of activities.

Office at Heldergroen

   

The office of the Future

In order to encourage your team to think creatively, you must make your office prone to creativity.  The company Autodesk does just that, as they hired Morgan Lovell to design an office that motivates the Autodesk team to think outside the box.  The design firm Morgan Lovell had the employees in mind while designing the Autodesk office, as they were able design an office that catered to the different needs of the individuals that works in the company.  As mentioned in the video, many Autodesk employees work mobile, while some need their own space to be able to focus on their task.  Moreover, the designer also took the time working with the company to design spaces that specifically caters to specific departments of the company.  Providing the ideal environment for the employee not only improves productivity, but also builds a connection with the individual.  Rather than be in a space that is empty, why not provide the individual with a space that talks to them personally?