That may all be true, but as the open office trend has grown, so has an entire industry of products designed to correct all of the problems they present for employees who struggle to focus, hear one another, and enjoy any measure of privacy in their distraction-riddled environments.

Sound-dampening privacy pods provide a compromise between the new open office ethos and hallways lined with separate enclosed rooms for each employee. Enter the headquarters of just about any large company today, and what you’ll see is almost certainly a wide open space filled with modular pods designed for small meetings or solitary concentration.

At an office like AirBnb’s San Francisco headquarters, these “pods” might actually take the shape of padded illuminated niches cut into a giant wooden “ship” or house-shaped booths for private phone calls, but you don’t have to have the budget of a multi-billion-dollar corporation to make the concept work for your space.

The “Planet for Two” by Ukrainian design duo MZPA is a portable solution that can be placed in any open space for instant privacy, and it’s cool-looking, too. Built to fit two people (as its name suggests), this geodesic meeting room is made from connected triangles of plywood, powder-coated metal connectors, and a plush fabric mattress in customizable colors. It’s based on a previous design called “The Planet,” which itself accommodates a single user.

The designers envision both of these geometric pods as multipurpose rooms-within-rooms that can be used for meetings, lounging, brainstorming, phone calls, or even in place of a desk for employees who work more efficiently in less open environments. Communication is key in any business, they note, and while open office plans seem like they should foster more of it, too much noise and activity can make people feel like they have to shout over each other to be heard, worsening the problem.

Available for delivery anywhere in the world, the Planet for Two retails for $5,700 and comes with a built-in LED lamp, speaker system, USB charging port for electronic devices, and even a few optional solar panels so you can place it outdoors if you like. It’s easy to imagine these pods fitting right into places like airports, cafés, and college campuses.

“It’s great for moments when you need to stay alone, gather your thoughts and focus, and have a cup of coffee,” say designers Julia Kononenko and Artem Zakharchenko.

More than anything, pods like the “Planet for Two” demonstrate the need for offices to remain flexible to both the diverse needs of staff and changing trends in office interior design. Give your employees enough privacy and quiet, and they might not have to resort to such desperate tactics as noise-cancelling helmets that look like a joke from a comedy set in outer space.

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A decade after they designed the canteen within the building, designers Roelof Mulder and Ira Koers returned to come up with a mobile furniture solution that’s also every bit as elegant as the architecture demands (because let’s be honest, folding chairs were never going to cut it). The duo’s mobile bamboo work islands fit together like puzzle pieces and include cutouts for massive potted plants and trees to make full use of the room’s grand scale.

The 12 units are set on wheels so they can easily be rolled into various configurations or out of the space altogether. Once pushed into place, they appear to be one large workspace combining comfortable couch-like upholstered seating with large platforms that can be used as desks. There’s no one correct way to orient them, so the spaces within can be spontaneously created as desired. They’re often arranged symmetrically, with an opening in the center so that users can nestle within the living greenery in chairs or at small café-style tables.

Made of durable bamboo, the mobile work islands are equipped with bumpers so they can be shifted around safely. The same semi-circular cutouts that wrap around the potted plants when they’re placed in the center of the room can also accommodate the giant beams along the perimeter. When the units are pushed to the edges, they maintain seating while offering a large open gathering area in the center.

The greenery adds privacy, dampens sound, and changes the overall mood of the room. What could feel like an overly large space full of echoes becomes intimate and comfortable, creating new vantage points from which to admire the hall’s many brick arches opening to other spaces. Mulder and Koers eliminated some existing curtains and frosted glass in the hall to encourage more open lines of sight and views of the city outside.

Keeping the use of this central hall flexible pays tribute to the building’s long and varied history. First built as a Catholic orphanage in 1780, it was converted into a bank in the 1960s. What was then an open central courtyard was roofed over to create the hall as it is seen today. That same decade, the Maagdenhuis became the administrative center for the University of Amsterdam, the site of historic student protests in 1969.

With Mulder and Koers’ mobile work islands, the Maagdenhuis atrium remains open to evolution, responding to whatever needs the University might have. The design duo recently created a similarly lush planted courtyard effect in the central hall of the in The Netherlands’ Dijklander Hospital, updating the original 1980s design by Jan Tennekes with a modern aesthetic that “resuscitates it with biophilia.”

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Located within a historic four-story building in the center of the city, the new Maria Nila Salon is a vision in soft pastels, evoking the relaxing sensual pleasures of high-end salon services with fluid organic shapes. Giant MDF and plexiglass cut-outs in dripping shapes call to mind endlessly flowing hair products and introduce a youthful, playful, and creative feeling. The whole salon is awash in dreamy shades of lavender, mint, turquoise, pink, and peach.

ASKA wanted to give the building itself a voice in the design, as well. They chose colors and design elements that would complement original features like floors made of checkered marble and wood laid in a herringbone pattern. At the entrance, the purple plexiglass installation hanging from the ceiling frames the antique wooden door for a contrast of old and new.

The salon is designed to show off the company’s products while doubling as office space. Softly undulating product shelves are spread throughout each room, their shapes taking inspiration from natural elements like water, trees, caves, and coral reefs in a nod to Maria Nila’s nature-centric approach.

“The concept of the House of Maria Nila is to always be inviting, have an air of friendliness, and encourage a modern way of expressing beauty,” states Maria Nila. “While the townhouse Maria Nila now calls home is located in Lärkstaden, an area fully built on the design that dominated Swedish architecture in the early days of the 20th century, it’s clear that the inside speaks young-at-heart and playful.”

“With a wish to not compromise with the old soul of the house, Maria Nila asked the new and upcoming architecture firm ASKA to take on the mission to create an interior that would mirror the values of the brand: friendly, curious, and honest. A task that fitted well with the philosophy of the trio. ASKA’s belief is that styles, design expressions, and epochs will pass with time. But the essential architectural qualities, the residuals – aska in Swedish, will always remain. With the use of pastel colors, round shapes, and soft materials, ASKA has mixed the old soul of the building with the young spirit and energy of Maria Nila.”

ASKA visited the space often throughout the renovation to fine-tune certain elements as necessary, like adding their own custom acoustic panels when a particular room was found to be too noisy. They designed and crafted much of the furniture seen throughout the salon and brought in objects made by hip young creators like furniture designer Gustaf Westman and LED artists Josefin Eklund and My Zachrisson.

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Designed by the Foshan branch of the Topway Design architecture firm, the new headquarters of ZCMetal was created to highlight the versatility and beauty of metal, as well as its connection with the natural world.

“As designers, we’re living in an environment with cold reinforced concrete buildings and fast-paced lifestyles, thus we are increasingly desiring to return to nature,” explains the Foshan Topway team. “Through this project, we intended to create a free, refreshing space where visitors would feel like they’re brought to nature and liberated from fatigue and burnout. Based on the design concept of ‘naturalism,’ we tried to integrate environment with nature to create a people-centered and personalized space.”

ZCMetal itself aims to endow its products with “artistic aesthetics, natural forms, and humanistic spirit.” Those products include customized metal furniture, decorations, and art installations, all fashioned using the powerful combo of modern carving technology and traditional craftsmanship.

The entry way/exhibition hall of the new HQ is designed to “wow” visitors as it leads them through a giant curving cavern, with layers of reflective steel mimicking the weathered texture of ancient canyon walls. LED lights from above allow the surfaces to change color, from blazing reds to icy grays. The ceiling can even be programmed to appear like a shimmering blanket of stars or a veil of billowy clouds. In one bend of the cavern, a metallic seat rises organically from the polished steel floor.

“We hoped to return metal to its original state and simplicity of nature,” add the architects. “Nature nurtures mankind’s creativity, while we give back to nature with creative thinking.”

Once outside the canyon, the view opens up to a two-story high reception area, complete with a lobby bar and conversation space. The reception desk is made from delicately molded steel, with a backdrop of artistically brushed metal surrounding an oval of geometric shapes and shadows. Giant metal water droplets are suspended mid-fall above the desk.

To the right, visitors can view the spiral staircase, itself enclosed by dark walls filled with neon LED polka dots. While the initial impression is reminiscent of a disco-era dance floor, the subsequent reflections created against adjacent walls produce echoes of trees and rivers of light. Just outside the space are a series of descending drops that suggest the idea of a waterfall.

Perpetuating the water theme is the landscaped area between the stairs and the reception desk, where Topway has sculpted a splash of metallic water backlit by more frosty blue LEDs.

Overall, the ZCMetal Headquarters exudes a feeling of modern power and wonder, with a nod toward the nature that sustains today’s technology.

Founded in 2002, Topway Design began in Shanghai and has since expanded across 24 Chinese provinces and Canada. They specialize in the architectural planning and design of real estate development projects. Some of their larger undertakings include Dalian Jinzhou Greenland Center and the Taiyuan Tsinghua Science Park.

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Masterminded by Tina Bunyaprasit and Werner Aisslinger, the design speaks to LOQI’s identity as a manufacturer of totes, weekend bags, pouches, and reusable masks created in collaboration with modern and contemporary artists (along with the requisite Klimt, Van Gogh, and Hokusai). The American-born international company needed new work and activity areas that gave its team the flexibility and autonomy to choose when and how they worked, all within a sustainable and stylish space.

The result is every bit as “lively and inspiring” as the designers intended, “breaking through the gray schematism of standardized workstation units.” Occupying a roughly 10,000-square-foot facility with high vaulted ceilings and an industrial character, the office has specific zones dedicated to different purposes like holding small private discussions, taking calls, chatting with colleagues, and accommodating large meetings. None of these uses are set in stone, of course, and the lines between them are always permeable.

Yes, the facility consists of one big open room of the sort that a lot of workers hate, but it’s no cubicle farm. The circular meeting zones, with their heavy velvet curtains on rails, break up the space and help absorb distracting sounds. Couches are tucked away against walls, set behind adorable gabled privacy pods with bubble windows. Nobody’s going to get away with curling up in one of these to surreptitiously take a nap, but they look like a nice way to get some peace and quiet when you need to concentrate or recharge.

“The cycle of a sustainable production and lifestyle is seen less as an urgent necessity than as an opportunity; recycling and upcycling not only as a daily office routine, but as a design impulse,” Studio Aisslinger states. “Striking fabric curtains, transparent folding screens, materials, and colors moderate the transition between the different working areas.”

“Sitting at one’s desk or standing at a high table, debating the most recent project at a round table or thinking through an inspiring design, secluded in the work capsule that shields all noise from outside – flexible and open, the room adapts to the respective needs, creating space for playful creativity, for that dance of mind and body that is needed to gain new ideas.”

The pods, step-shaped lounge areas, and abundance of primary colors almost give this office the feel of a playground for adults, but that doesn’t mean it’s childish. On the contrary, the effect is lighthearted, dynamic, and uniquely suited to LOQI’s artistic spirit. Plus, in keeping with our new pandemic-induced consciousness about personal space, there’s a full six feet in between each zone, giving every employee ample room to breathe. Wide corridors, movable partitions, and touchless controls all contribute to a workspace that’s safer than average (and hopefully adequately ventilated, as well).

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The rapper and founder of ROC NATION, an entertainment firm headquartered in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York, recently worked with CEO Desiree Perez and architect Jeffrey Beers to design the company offices in a way that married with the art gallery vibe of the surrounding area. Inside, a collection of structural and wall art accentuates a flowing and open architectural design while introducing a combination of modern furnishings and contemporary art.

Beginning with a blank slate, the architecture incorporates high ceilings and copious large windows to allow natural light to flood the area. Metal, glass, and wood finishings along the stairways further accentuate natural elements both inside and out. The lobby and reception areas welcome guests and employees into the offices and present generous gathering spaces for swapping ideas and sharing project concepts. Even the interior rows of offices bring individual workspaces encased in glass for hallways of reflective walls. Material uniformity from top to bottom forms a continuously approachable tour of black frames, concrete floors, and white walls that seamlessly guides you from one area to the next.

According to Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, “The first thing a visitor notices is that it’s open, transparent, and bold. I want the employees to feel creative without sensing barriers, and I think that makes an enormous difference in what they bring to the table, in terms of ideas.”

In addition to an airy space that leaves plenty of room for creativity to grow, the featured art selections also offer inspiration. For example, a colorful patchwork-style, multi-medium sculpture by artist Nick Cave takes center stage at the base of a stairway to the upper level. Elsewhere, punches of color hit in just the right spots, and subdued prints leave behind sly impressions.

“From the start, we wanted to capture and express the hip, modern, industry-leading culture of Roc Nation. The design had to be bold and fearless, and to connect with the creative client ethos,” Jeffrey Beers says.

Layering onto the architectural elements, wall art throughout the building is contemporary and varied. From portraits to animals to colorful abstract art, each space emulates the energetic sense of the city beyond the walls. Within the offices, employees can add their own inspiring touches, as Beers explains when he says “individuality and creativity are encouraged at Roc Nation, and staff can decorate their own work space.” That may take shape with material selection such as leather, brass, or fabrics. Additionally, personal flairs can be seen in soft furnishings like pillows, or in decor selections like lamps and figurines.

The four executive suites were custom-designed to match the personality and company role of each occupant. They range from edgy to minimalistic in style, but each centralizes a comfortable environment within a functional space. For an intimate creative zone, a circular theater offers comfort and practicality, combining curving desks and couches with advanced technology. Outdoors, a massive rooftop sitting area delivers comfy furniture and expansive space to breathe fresh air while culminating imaginative artistry.

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Japanese architecture and design studio Waterfrom Design did just that for “Ideal Gas Lab,” the new Taiwan offices of Jing He Science, a company selling high-tech gas. They set out to break the stereotypical idea of what an office looks like while emphasizing the company’s branding and keeping everything simple and budget-friendly. Naturally, they started by focusing on elements frequently associated with gas: steel cylinders and pipes.

Used primarily as the supports for the desks, the tanks are painted a vivid orange, simultaneously highlighted by the black and white walls and softened by the mint green tint of the wood floors. Their origin and original purpose are immediately evident, but there’s not a logo in site, and the effect doesn’t feel overdone. The tanks reference a recognizable corporate identity, and upcycling them in this way extends the timeline of their usability.

The studio explains: “With pressure of environment and change of temperature, the substance can be transformed into different states: static solid state, fluent liquid state, and gaseous state which is both static and fluent. This is not the opening remark of a physics class. It is the start of [the] design of a brand-new office, a technology company which sells high-tech gas. When the inspiration is based on ‘science’ instead of ‘office.'”

“We rely on the laboratory, which is most associated with products, factory, daily test tubes, cast iron, black iron, gas pipes, and unique steel cylinders which carry technological gas. Unified orange on steel cylinders, lake water color on solid flooring, and gradient baking finish from bright to dark colors and from orange to black show the existence of gas at different temperatures. We consider one stem and one leaf as the micro-world of change of substance. The cycle resembles the transfer among solid state, liquid state, and gaseous state of substances in nature.”

This approach can also be used to liven up designs that might otherwise fall prey to the insidious bland sameness of cultural homogenization. All over the world, cities are developing at a rapid pace, which often means demolishing old structures and interiors to make way for the mass-produced new. But a city that’s virtually indistinguishable from any other has lost its soul, and interiors full of nothing but IKEA furniture are painfully uninteresting.

Preserving or reclaiming a few contextual elements into design might mean upcycling objects in an unexpected way, like Waterfrom Design did here, or referencing local cultural traditions and motifs. Either way, it roots the aesthetics of a space within a specific place, history, or purpose, making it a heck of a lot more memorable in the process.

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It’s no big secret that the workplace is one of the most stressful environments we expose ourselves to. There, anxiety can arise due to noise, pressure to meet goals, personal challenges, or a combination thereof. Whatever your biggest stressors might be, there’s no denying that tension is part of everyone’s daily life.

Simple solutions like painting walls green, incorporating natural wood and stone into the interiors, and increasing access to natural light have recently been introduced into many office settings to reduce work stress. But soon office workers may feel even more relaxed — not because of a monumental life change, but because of a new floor covering called “Relaxing Floors” that’s full of fractals.

Fractals Defined

Simply stated, a fractal is just a never-ending pattern, or a simple process repeated over and over in a loop. We are surrounded by fractals in nature in the form of rivers, mountains, trees, clouds, hurricanes — the list is overwhelming. Scientific research has proven that fractals lessen stress in humans, helping relieve mental, physical, and emotional problems.

Relaxing Floors and Fractals

Mohawk Group joined forces with Martin and Anastasija Lesjak of 13&9 Design, University of Oregon physicist Richard Taylor, a renowned expert on fractals, and Fractals Research to create Relaxing Floors, whose modular designs are chock-full of naturally occurring fractal patterns. Designed specifically for workplaces, the collection’s bold pieces even picked up a HiP award at NeoCon 2019.

How It Works

The Relaxing Floors collection melds art, science, and human-centric design to create fractal designs in carpet based on the flying patterns of scavenging birds and neurons formed in human eyes. These subtle patterns divert workers’ eyes from the scourge of computer screens around them and allow them to focus on something much more relaxing.

The Path to Production

Professor Taylor’s extensive research of fractals was impressive, but the challenge to translate his findings into a tangible product proved to be a tough one. Before long, he and 13&9 turned to two of his PhD students to develop a unique software that could work with Mohawk Technology’s trademarked machine technology.

The students succeeded, with the final carpet collection consisting of four designs: restD, mellowD, chillD, and Fractal Ground. Each one consists of mid-complexity fractals, which tend to be the ones the human eye naturally seeks out anyways.

The Color Psychology Factor

Besides the fractal component, Relaxing Floors also employs the effects of color psychology. This is done using green-gray and blue-gray color schemes, which make the fractals in the floor coverings easier to spot. According to Taylor, the combination of the two can offer genuine relief for the “stress conditions and illnesses that are on the rise. Our digitized and high-density built environments really need these kinds of patterns.”

Sustainability of Relaxing Floors

Mohawk Group is known for making products as sustainable as possible. In the case of Relaxing Floors, the carpets are all carbon neutral, Living Product Challenge Petal-certified, and aggressively support the planet’s ecosystem through outstanding energy and water-conserving manufacturing processes. On top of that, Mohawk’s Glasgow, Virginia carpet tile producer is a leader in sustainable manufacturing, and they’re single-handedly responsible for producing the entire Relaxing Floors line.

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“AB Workspace” is the firm’s own mobile office, designed to act as both a demonstration of their abilities and a practical space that’s accessible to three key Lebanese districts. Its rural location makes it easy to travel back and forth, and also gives it a certain level of exposure it might not have in a crowded urban setting.

The brand new studio, led by interior architect Ali Bazzi, specializes in a range of practices: architecture, interior architecture, design, landscaping, scenography, 3D visualization, set design, furniture design, and product design. You can see examples of just about all of these in the tiny 237-square-foot cabin.

Set against a backdrop of mountains and sky, the workspace has a decidedly theatrical flair. Upon entering, visitors find black and white interiors full of dynamic lines like triangular windows that make the space feel larger than it really is. The firm’s own lighting, furniture, and other details, including a metallic desk, add up to a cohesive representation of its signature aesthetics. A ladder leads to the rooftop terrace, offering spectacular views of the surrounding landscape.

But part of what makes the AB Workspace great is the fact that it doesn’t just feel like a showroom. It’s functional, it’s eye-catching, and it stands as a cool example of the tiny office trend in its own unique way.

Designed to be self-contained, the workspace includes its own rainwater collection and storage on the roof, and it’s powered entirely by solar panels. It’s also partially prefabricated and sized to be easily picked up and transported to a new location, if the firm should ever want to move it. Completed in 2018, the workspace takes full advantage of its location without being restricted by it.

The AB team explains: “This new cabin has been a totally new challenge for us at AB architects as it was all about achieving our vision, creating an innovative workspace that connects us with our diverse client base with all possible luxury, and invit[ing] people to experience good design as an investment to evolve along with our work culture.”

AB Workspace is also part of a larger trend toward small mobile workspaces, whether they’re built by and for architects or commissioned for personal use. Some, like this one, are semi-permanent, installed at a certain location with the possibility of moving elsewhere in the future. Others are truly portable, perhaps housed in campers, vans, or trailers so their owners can decide where they want to work on any given day and make it happen.

Is that living the dream or what?

The post Modern Mobile Workspace Shows Off AB Architects’ Chops first appeared on Dornob.

Converted shipping containers have become a popular choice for all of these reasons, but they still aren’t ideal, partially owing to the fact that they require extensive modification to be made comfortable for both hot and cold environments.

Even better than shipping containers are not just prefabricated but “pre-made” workspaces that ship fully assembled. These plug-and-play structures can be set down virtually anywhere by crane, and then it’s just a matter of filling them with the features and furniture your particular needs require.

When Powers Construction of Vancouver, Canada needed to upgrade their own portable offices for their site managers, they decided to come up with their own design. The result is the ‘Site Shack,’ a tiny 8 x 12-foot pre-made cabin that’s as cute as it is rugged.

“For this office, we wanted to design and build an iteration from scratch, thus removing the structural constraints of the shipping container module,” the firm explains. “The goal was to create a seamless Corten steel form reminiscent of a traditional pitched roof house. The roof pitch was calculated so truck transportation would not require over-height permits.”

“The interior was to be heated with a traditional wood stove. One end was to be fully glazed, [while] the other incorporated a hidden steel door. Throughout construction, the design details were refined. This allowed fulfillment of the initial desire for a seamless, finely detailed exterior.”

Made of a 2 x 6-inch wood frame with 5 x 5-foot steel angles at each end, the shack has a heavy-duty feel befitting its usage, and its built-in Cubic Mini interior wood stove made of cold-rolled steel is just right for the chilly climate of British Columbia. On top of that, Corten steel develops a beautiful rust patina over time that doesn’t corrode the material, holding up to rain, snow, ice, and fog. A two-inch layer of Outsulation, a rigid type of foam, offers thermal regulation to the interiors, which themselves are lined with fir plywood.

The handsome prefab presents a stark contrast to the usual facilities at any given construction site, which rarely get much fancier than a trailer and a port-a-potty. It’s also a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the average shipping container, albeit less stackable.

While it was initially created with the company’s own needs in mind, the Site Shack is adaptable to all kinds of other uses. Powers Construction says they’re already building limited numbers of semi-customized shacks on demand. It’s easy to imagine the design offering a peaceful backyard refuge as a mobile office for all kinds of work, a guest room, or a studio for art, music, or yoga. It could also serve as a sort of instant off-grid cabin in a remote location.

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The monotony of these limited ceiling treatments is exactly why TURF Design was created: to give the world of ceilings something totally different without disrupting existing conventions.

One way to change old habits is to start from a place that everyone can agree on, and the appeal of TURF Design’s products begins even before they are made. More specifically, their ceiling systems are made from 99 percent post-consumer plastic, half of which comes from single-use water bottles. This reduction in waste extends to the way the company controls the inventory of their products, in that they only manufacture on-demand from their Chicago plant.

With sustainable practices at the core of their business, TURF focuses on reducing echos in large spaces using ceiling systems that are both acoustically functional and aesthetically pleasing. Using parametric design, they create systems that make vacuous-feeling rooms a lot more intimate and fun.

What do clients find so interesting in the systems that TURF builds? Among other things, the fact that they can be installed without disturbing existing ceiling panels. No, this system of baffles can be adjusted and reconnected depending on the style a particular space needs. For example, the company’s Switchblade ceiling system is made from 99 percent recycled polyester plastic. Its 9-mm polyester felt boards are held to the underside of the steel grid magnets, which means no major renovation would be needed to alter the ceilings and reduce the noise in the space below. It also gives the space a new aesthetic that looks far more appealing than the one that was there before.

Then there is Swell, a ceiling system that looks like it’s literally growing. As the eye travels down the hall or across the room, the ceiling bulges and swells as if an otherworldly creature were about to pierce through.

Some might find that it looks creepy, but after a while, the wave-like forms that surround diffusers and sprinklers actually feel pretty soothing. This drop ceiling, unlike the typical drywall ones, can be installed easily without taking apart the existing one.

With so much talk of disruption in industry after industry, TURF Design is showing that the best way to succeed may be to avoid disruption altogether.

The post TURF Design’s Stunning Non-Disruptive Ceiling Systems first appeared on Dornob.

In June of 2018, McDonald’s opened a shiny new headquarters in Chicago’s lively West Loop neighborhood. Right up until its unveiling, the building resembled little more than a giant canvas covered in Big Macs. Still, it does look the the company is going back to its roots with this surprising new facility, having been based in the Windy City for nearly two decades in the middle of the 20th century. Not only will the HQ provide state-of-the-art workspaces for the company’s 2,400 employees, but it will also feature McDonald’s flagship Hamburger University.

From a design perspective, the focus here falls squarely on amenities, flexible working conditions, education, and innovation. Scott Phillips, McDonald’s Director of Corporate Real Estate, explains that the vision behind the project was “to connect work and people, foster and showcase innovation, and create a sustainable, flexible, and evolving workplace that would respond to changing needs.”

The design is a joint effort between interiors company IA Interior Architects, who were previously involved in the masterplanning of McDonald’s Oak Brook headquarters, and architects Gensler, a company renowned for its industrial approach to large-scale projects. The team knew they wanted to maximize employee collaboration from the start of the design process, making a point to allow staff members to work in every single corner of the building whenever they so felt like it. Each one of these corners marks a distinct “work neighborhood,” complete with huddle rooms, communal tables, workstations, private phone rooms, and personal lockers.

A huge, Escher-esque staircase at the center of the building further encourages interactions between staff members from different departments. The sixth floor “Work Café” is filled with stadium seating and huge floor-to-ceiling glazing that provides expansive views out over the city. All the offices are also peppered with outdoor terraces, and the ninth floor is even equipped with a wellness center to help employees stay in shape.

The concept behind this headquarters is very much in line with those found in Silicon Valley, encouraging staff to work at their own pace and in their own way while providing them with the facilities and amenities necessary to lead a balanced life at the same time. The building is also LEED certified, maintaining McDonald’s commitment to sustainability in the workplace. On top of that, all the food waste produced in the new HQ’s kitchens is composted and reused on its green roof. McDonald’s iconic heritage is also on display throughout the building in the form of mini-museums, with exhibition cabinets housing hoards of Happy Meal toys from over the years.

Of course, no McDonald’s HQ would be complete without a proper McDonald’s restaurant. This takes up the entire ground floor, featuring all of the classic menu items as well as some international meals that don’t otherwise appear on US menus. The restaurant has been dubbed an “Experience of the Future” location, and it places a heavy emphasis on the connection between the food industry and technology.

The post McDonald’s Chicago Headquarters Sets a New Benchmark for Contemporary Office Design first appeared on Dornob.

Even choices in room décor can influence the way a patient feels about their experience. Studies have found that everything from the formality of the office to the color of the curtains has an effect on a patient’s comfort level, trust in their therapist, and desire to make another appointment. Spaces that feel too institutional or uninspiring can even impact the therapist’s energy levels and morale.

Harry Ritter, a former Vice President of Care Delivery at startup insurer Oscar, heard many of these complaints from the providers he worked with and began to envision something different. The result was Alma, a co-working space for independent therapists and a variety of other wellness practitioners like nutritionists and acupuncturists.

Set up to launch these experts into their own practices in an environment that will help both them and their patients succeed, the facility offers 16 stylishly outfitted soundproof session rooms, meditation pods, a waiting room that prioritizes privacy with seating that all faces the same way, and an easier check-in process facilitated by touchscreen devices.

Each of the therapy rooms is identical down to the smallest details, since familiarity has been shown to help patients feel more at ease and they may not be given the same room every time. Interior designer Lauren Spear carefully selected hues, patterns, shapes, and textures for them that promote feelings of peace of tranquility.

For the therapists who work there, having daily contact with other people in the same field can boost both their professional outlook and their own mental health. Members participate in Alma-hosted networking events, continuing education opportunities, and a vetted referral network in addition to enjoying an environment that encourages them to always be bonding with each other.

Alma’s first community co-working space opened on Madison Avenue in the heart of midtown Manhattan in 2018. Today, that facility hosts over 25 therapists and plans to expand its reach with a network of similar communities around New York and beyond.

Ritter hopes that creating a beautiful space for therapy will help erase the stigma attached to seeking mental health treatment and encourage people to keep coming back.

“From the moment you look for a provider in Alma’s community, book your first visit, or step through our doors, our hope is that you feel like you are entering an experience that is welcoming, professional, and results-oriented,” he writes on Medium.

“With Alma, we’re building a business that respects the gravity of our industry, the professionalism of our community members, and the sanctity of the work that happens inside the provider-client relationship.”

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