May 4, 2018
In 2013, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) launched a movement to address issues regarding health and well-being within the built environment. From this, the WELL Building Standard was established with the aim to provide architects and designers with guidelines on how to make a real and measurable difference to how we function within our…
April 20, 2018
The design of the office has evolved rapidly over the past few decades. First it was private offices. Then came cubicles, which lead to individualized, cubby-sized workstations. Early millennials entering the workforce – stifled by a lack of personal space and a desire to collaborate – have sparked a movement in office design, changing the…
March 29, 2018
Blurred lines indicate that fast-moving trends shape the way we live, work and play. One such trend is the influence of the hospitality industry on corporate office design. Even as hospitality itself changes (i.e. lobby as living room, focus on well-being, impact of biophilic design, emphasis on locale, etc.), those developments are popping up in…
March 14, 2018
In the last few years, neuroscientists have come to a remarkable conclusion: the quantity and quality of open space around us—whether it’s rows of cubicles in a an open floor matrix, four walls in a classroom with a view of the next building, or a windowless treatment area—is responsible for increasing the cognitive load on…
March 1, 2018
To support employee engagement, architects and designers are fashioning visually identifiable collision points within office spaces. These collision points encourage employees to share ideas, collaborate and meet, mirroring the behaviors of their home neighborhoods. Recent research from Steelcase further examines the correlation between employee engagement and workplace satisfaction. The report notes that workers who are…
October 24, 2017
Sound – especially sound in the spaces where we work – affects us far more than you might think. When it comes to designing interior spaces, acoustic considerations are often put aside or completely ignored in favor of purely visual aesthetics. However, condemning office workers, hospital staff, students and teachers, guests in hotels and even…
October 12, 2017
Offering stylish furnishings from globally responsible sources, West Elm grew up in the Brooklyn neighborhood of DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass). Their commitment to community initiatives, dedication to personal retail service, and desire to connect global artisan markets to their customers made them a magnet for attracting the millennial shopper. When their business took…
September 29, 2017
Dead silence can be an intimidating working environment. Some sound in any workplace is generally desirable: pleasing background sounds like the gentle, indecipherable babble of colleagues speaking, one’s own choice of music or perhaps the sounds of nature coming through an open window. However, much of the sound in typical workplaces is undesirable: ringing phones,…
September 22, 2017
Biophilic Design as a key aspect of health and wellbeing is moving up the built environment agenda fast – and for good reason. With high rates of urbanisation, a rise in stress related illness and an increasing level of technological proliferation – it seems that we are moving ever further from the natural elements that…
September 18, 2017
Breaking new ground is only possible by making changes. Initiating the process and successfully shaping change calls for boldness, determination and a new way of thinking from everyone involved. This was the challenge that Philips DACH faced while planning the relocation of its headquarters in northern Hamburg, Germany. A smooth transition from traditional to modern was the…
Oliver Heath 
Gretchen Wagner 
Interface 
Sky Factory 
Mandy Leeming 
Julian Treasure