• Events
  • Marketplace
  • Resources
  • Press Releases
  • Business Directory
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
The FUTURE OF WORK® since 2003
Allwork.Space
Subscribe
  • All Topics
    • Business
    • Biophilic Design
    • Career Growth
    • Coliving
    • Collaboration
    • Coworking
    • CRE
    • DE&I
    • Digital Nomads
    • Future of Work
    • Home Office
    • Human Resources (HR)
    • Hybrid Work
    • Investment
    • Leadership
    • Marketing
    • Mental Health
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Office Furniture
    • Productivity
    • PropTech
    • Remote Work
    • Self-care
    • SMBs
    • Social Impact
    • Space-as-a-Service
    • Technology
    • Virtual Office
    • Work-life Balance
    • Workforce
    • Workplace Design
    • Workplace Wellness
  • News
  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Work-life
  • Career Growth
  • Tech
  • Design
  • Workforce
  • Coworking
  • Marketing
  • CRE
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Advertise With Us
    • Marketplace
    • Events
  • All Topics
    • Business
    • Biophilic Design
    • Career Growth
    • Coliving
    • Collaboration
    • Coworking
    • CRE
    • DE&I
    • Digital Nomads
    • Future of Work
    • Home Office
    • Human Resources (HR)
    • Hybrid Work
    • Investment
    • Leadership
    • Marketing
    • Mental Health
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Office Furniture
    • Productivity
    • PropTech
    • Remote Work
    • Self-care
    • SMBs
    • Social Impact
    • Space-as-a-Service
    • Technology
    • Virtual Office
    • Work-life Balance
    • Workforce
    • Workplace Design
    • Workplace Wellness
  • News
  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Work-life
  • Career Growth
  • Tech
  • Design
  • Workforce
  • Coworking
  • Marketing
  • CRE
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Advertise With Us
    • Marketplace
    • Events
No Result
View All Result
Allwork.Space
OfficerRnD_ Flex Startup Program_Image_Leaderboard_AllWork_728x90
Home Business

5 Weird and Wonderful Workspace Designs We Love

Jo MeunierbyJo Meunier
August 10, 2016
in Business
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
Office designs Bahnhof
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare to Network
Nexudus Ad

To some, the office is a humdrum place of meetings, deadlines and pressure. To others, it’s a vibrant medley of collaborative spaces and quiet solitude to drive inspiration, stimulation and creativity.

It’s easy to see which is more beneficial, but how do you create an environment that’s conducive to a positive workplace culture?

There’s no straightforward answer. From effective management and great leadership to flexible working principles and employee development, there are so many different ways to inspire and engage a workforce. One of them is office design, and you can see brilliant workspace design in action at many of the world’s most successful corporations.

Indeed, today’s workspace industry is a smorgasbord of innovative ideas and cutting-edge architectural ideas. It serves a very important purpose beyond the aesthetics — to inspire its residents and enable creativity and productivity to flourish by delivering a platform in which different personalities can thrive.

More stories for you

Redefine Hybrid Office Space To Boost Employee Productivity

Hybrid Work Expert Shares 3 Proven Ways To Boost Productivity

5 hours ago
Neurodiversity In The Workplace Is Redefining How Companies Operate

Neurodiversity In The Workplace Is Redefining How Companies Operate

2 days ago
AI Tools Making Space For More Architectural Creativity

AI Tools Making Space For More Architectural Creativity

1 week ago
4 Priorities To Consider When Designing Workplaces For Gen Z

4 Priorities To Consider When Designing Workplaces For Gen Z

4 weeks ago

Such workspace utopias are often associated with corporate giants like Google, but not every fantastic design is backed by a Google-sized organisation or budget. Here we celebrate some of the most unusual, weird and downright wonderful office designs in the world today, because sometimes inspiration comes from the most unlikely of places:

GreenPod by Neste

Greenpod_Neste

This remarkable multifunctional pod by Finnish corporation Neste is designed almost entirely with renewable materials, providing an office and meeting space, or simply a quiet place in which to escape the hustle and bustle. It’s not yet in production, but if brought to fruition GreenPod will provide a smart interconnected environment with walls that can be transformed into different landscapes, background sounds, ambient temperature, and even 3D holograms for meetings.

As Neste puts it: “The GreenPod revolutionizes the concept of work. In the end, it’s all about working more efficiently rather than working more.” The GreenPod is one of five different designs from Neste’s ‘Pre-Order the Future‘ initiative. Whichever concept receives the most public up-votes will be developed into a prototype later this year.

Image: Neste Facebook page

Taman Bima microlibrary by SHAU Bandung Architects

Taman_Bima_SCHAU

Although not technically an office space, this micro-library in Bandung, Indonesia, is stunning in both its simplicity and its sustainability. The brainchild of Dutch architectural firm Shau, it’s made from 2,000 upcycled ice cream buckets and is elevated to free the ground space for events and other purposes.

The tiny structure provides a community space for reading and studying. According to Shau, the pattern on the facade spells out a message by Mayor Ridwan Kamil, “buku adalah jendela dunia” meaning “books are windows to the world”, and the project is one of several pilots aimed at improving the country’s literacy rate.

Image: www.shau.nl

Cr@te by Grangewood Investments Ltd

Crate_Office

Continuing the sustainability theme, take a look at these former shipping containers in Loughton, Essex. Set to open later this year, Grangewood’s masterplan will deliver a complex of 36 shipping containers, each one housing a unique workspace designed for freelancers and home-based entrepreneurs.

Given its proximity to major motorways (M11 and M25) and Central line stations, its location is designed to allow easy access to and from Central London without the overheated expense of office space within the city. Each Cr@te features full height windows, Wi-Fi, and on-site facilities including bike storage, showers and a Costa Coffee.

Krzywy Domek by Szotyńscy & Zaleski

CrookedHouse

Meaning “The Crooked House”, Krzywy Domek is a bizarre yet brilliant retail and office building in Sopot, Poland. It was built in 2004 by architects SzotyÅ„scy and Zaleski, who were inspired by the fairytale illustrations of children’s author Jan Marcin Szancer. Inside, the ‘crooked house’ provides meeting rooms and office space in addition to retail outlets and restaurants, and is billed as “the strangest building in the world” – which the operators proudly proclaim as a unique selling point.

Image: http://krzywydomek.info

Bahnhof Data Center, Pionen

Bahnhof_Data_Center

Fancy working deep inside a mountain below 30 meters of granite? It might sound like the lair of an evil Bond villain, but in fact this hidden bunker is the data center of Swedish IT and Internet service provider, Bahnhof. Buried inside the White Mountains near Stockholm, Pionen is a former civil defence center that was designed to protect people and data from nuclear strike.

Today it’s the home of one of Sweden’s largest network operators, founded in 1994, who unsurprisingly offer “extreme security” to their customers. In fact, so secure is the site that it attracted WikiLeaks, who reportedly stored servers at the site in 2010.

Image: Bahnhof Facebook

Got a weird or wonderful workspace design? Share your ideas with us on Twitter and Facebook or by contacting the editors.

Survey
Tags: Design
Jo Meunier

Jo Meunier

Jo is Allwork.Space's Senior Editor for the UK and Europe. Jo has worked within business centre and coworking circles since 2009, researching and contributing written features for numerous industry publications. She reports on the latest market news and delves into local issues with one main objective: to champion the flexible workspace industry and its members.

No Result
View All Result
Survey

Latest News

Employee Monitoring Raises Ethical Questions, New Advisory In U.K.

Employee Monitoring Raises Ethical Questions, New Advisory In U.K.

October 3, 2023
U.S. Workforce Prioritizing Flexibility Over Job Hopping

U.S. Workforce Prioritizing Flexibility Over Job Hopping

October 3, 2023
WeWork Starts Default Countdown Clock As It Refuses To Make Interest Payments

WeWork Starts Default Countdown Clock As It Refuses To Make Interest Payments

October 3, 2023
Alliance Virtual Offices Enters Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Companies 2023

Alliance Virtual Offices Enters Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Companies 2023

October 3, 2023
Retirement Realities Around The World: Exploring The Gap Between Official And Actual Retirement Ages

Retirement Realities Around The World: Exploring The Gap Between Official And Actual Retirement Ages

October 2, 2023
Meta’s Return-to-Office Fiasco: Hybrid Work Causes Confusion, Challenges

Meta’s Return-to-Office Fiasco: Hybrid Work Causes Confusion, Challenges

October 2, 2023

News and Features

Business

Tech

Marketing

Design

Work-life

CRE

Coworking

Workforce

Daily Digest

Podcast

Resources

Marketplace

Events

Press Releases

FlexSpace, Coworking
and Office Space

Los Angeles

New York

Chicago

Washington, D.C.

Houston

Dallas

Miami

San Francisco

Atlanta

Philadelphia

Seattle

Austin

Company

About Us

Submit to Allwork.Space

Contact

Advertise

FlexSpace

Terms Of Use

FlexSpace FAQs

Privacy Policy

Connect with Allwork.Space

Twitter

Linkedin

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Podcasts

©2023 Allwork.Space  l  Exploring the FUTURE OF WORK® since 2003.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Topics
    • Business
    • Leadership
    • Work-life
    • Workforce
    • Career Growth
    • Design
    • Tech
    • Coworking
    • Marketing
    • CRE
  • Experts
    • Podcast
    • Opinions
  • Resources
    • Research + Reports
    • Marketplace
    • Find Office Space
    • Find Remote Jobs
    • Press
  • Events
  • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Submit to Allwork.Space
    • Contact
Subscribe

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
-
00:00
00:00

Queue

Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00