Work from heaven
For many of us who hold a “9-5” job, the office can sometimes be a place we dread going to every day. While work may be something that cannot be helped, the environment is definitely one that can be changed. Take a look at some of the most innovative offices around the world that aim to redefine the workplace.
Inventionland offices
For a company that aims to create more than 2,000 items per year, the office should be a place that tickles the imagination. Inventionland, a Pittsburgh-based company, has basically done that and more. Their 61,000-sqft facility looks like a theme park for grown-ups. The office space is divided into various sets, designed to resemble pirate ships, race tracks, caves and castles, to name a few. The workspace is based on the motto of George Davison, the founder of the company: “The best work comes out of the spirit of play.”
Though it was built primarily to accommodate the company’s employees, the facility became a tourist attraction as well. After all, where else can you find an office with three running waterfalls and an elevated treehouse?
The Concept Kitchen of Inventionland is where new cookware is created.
The Motor Speedway of Inventionland is the birthplace of many innovations in transportation.
Despite the playfulness of its look though, each set has been specifically designed to accommodate various kinds of work. The equipment, materials and programs needed by the employees are distributed around the facility, ensuring quick and smooth workflow. The facility incorporates workstations, open office layouts and conference areas to encourage both individual and collective brainstorming.
Inventionland is unique because it weaves together play and work, ensuring the perfect formula to stir the imagination. While some people might find the place too whimsical for their taste, it’s perfect for the office that aims to create new stuff every day.
Cairnhill Law Offices
From a playful environment, we move on to a more serious workplace: the law office.
Traditionally, this kind of office brings to mind austere interiors, formal designs and a no-nonsense layout. Yet nowadays, many law offices beg to differ.
The Cairnhill Law Office in Singapore, in particular, is one such workplace that veers away from classic styles. A brainchild of the local firm Studio SKLIM, the law office incorporates biophilia, or love of nature, in the practice of legal profession.
The workplace centers on a verdant spine, which accommodates spaces for storage, printing and conference. The spine takes inspiration from a lush, tropical rainforest with wild flora growth. The area not only serves aesthetic and functional purposes. Its greenery also provides a sense of privacy for the employees, shielding them away from the more public parts of the office.
The Cairnhill Law Office uses plants to create a space that is both relaxing and protective.
The conference room created by Studio SKLIM for a law office combines rattan ornaments with lights.
Elsewhere, the office features plants and rattan which soften the atmosphere of the area. Well-placed task lights ensure sufficient illumination for reading and typing. Curved rattan partitions provide a play of shadows that provides a sense of privacy without the isolation.
Overall, Cairnhill Law Offices brings together two things that are both essential to a lawyer’s client: comfort and security. The lush vegetation inside the office provides a breathing space and an enclosure, allowing clients to fall at ease with their lawyers and feel protected at the same time.
Trend Micro Offices
Situated in Egypt, Trend Micro combines culture and work to become both museum and office. Designed by Dalia Sadany Dezines, the workplace is the result of the collaborative work of an accredited Egyptologist and a cyber-security professional.
Taking inspiration from the company’s product, the office incorporates both prehistoric and modern techniques in security. The office features a maze-like layout with hieroglyphs and lattice patterns. The space is well-lit, yet dark in finish, creating a sense of elegance. Toilet cubicles, in particular, are cladded in stone finishes, paying homage to the prehistoric pyramids that made Egypt famous.
Trend Micro Offices in Cairo combine past and present concepts in security to design a museum-like space.
Trend Micro combines the past and the present to create a journey about security in time. It showcases not only the company’s vision but also pays homage to the culture that shapes it. It is an example of an office that remains rooted to its context and which uses space as a means to create identity.
Sources: https://inventionland.com; https://officesnapshots.com; Nour El Rafai; Khoo Guo Jie at Studio Periphery
