RESEARCH STUDIO PLACE 2.5
BERLAGE INSTITUT ROTTERDAM
CONCEPT RESEARCH STUDIO
CONCEIVED AND IMPLEMENTED BY ARCHITONIC
The design of working space has never been a primary occupation for architecture. The main focus has always been on economic and organisational criteria relating to work, principally from the point of view of the companies and investors. The logical consequence has been a concentration on purely functional and cost-efficient factors.
To the present day the discussion has hardly got beyond a basic layout approach and in the last analysis still moves backwards and forwards between the individual office and the open-plan office, involving what has in the meantime become a variety of alternatives and combinations.
The large majority of offices are designed by office fitting and interior design specialists, and innovation generally only takes place at the level of new surfacing materials, colours and furniture design.
For Architonic it was therefore a fascinating challenge to ’architectonise’ the PLACE 2.5 theme which has been launched by Sedus, to place it on a larger scale, and in the process to integrate the urban context into the research work. The Berlage Institute in Rotterdam – a hotbed of modern Dutch architectural discourse – was an ideal cooperation partner for this way of looking at the subject.
To the present day the discussion has hardly got beyond a basic layout approach and in the last analysis still moves backwards and forwards between the individual office and the open-plan office, involving what has in the meantime become a variety of alternatives and combinations.
The large majority of offices are designed by office fitting and interior design specialists, and innovation generally only takes place at the level of new surfacing materials, colours and furniture design.
For Architonic it was therefore a fascinating challenge to ’architectonise’ the PLACE 2.5 theme which has been launched by Sedus, to place it on a larger scale, and in the process to integrate the urban context into the research work. The Berlage Institute in Rotterdam – a hotbed of modern Dutch architectural discourse – was an ideal cooperation partner for this way of looking at the subject.
The aim of the research semester under the academic leadership of Dietmar Leyk was the development of future visions for corporate head offices in major international cities such as Peking, Hong Kong, New York and London.
The starting point was the analysis of working and communication processes at a range of corporate types such as a bank, a provider of online services, an insurance company, advertising agency etc. In order to be able to make statements which will remain valid for the next 50 years, there was in-depth examination of the effects of the trends towards the knowledge society, globalisation and digitalisation.
Der verschärfte Kampf um die besten Köpfe, immer mobilere und variablere Arbeitsplätze und -zeiten, die zunehmende Digitalisierung der Arbeitsprozesse und der proportional dazu wachsende Bedarf an Koordinations- und Verhandlungsaufgaben im Team waren Rahmenbedingungen auf denen die Projekte aufbauen.
The framework conditions on which these projects are based include intensified competition for the best talents, ever more mobile and more variable job descriptions and working times, the increasing digitalisation of working processes and the proportionally increased need for team-based coordination and negotiation tasks.
The starting point was the analysis of working and communication processes at a range of corporate types such as a bank, a provider of online services, an insurance company, advertising agency etc. In order to be able to make statements which will remain valid for the next 50 years, there was in-depth examination of the effects of the trends towards the knowledge society, globalisation and digitalisation.
Der verschärfte Kampf um die besten Köpfe, immer mobilere und variablere Arbeitsplätze und -zeiten, die zunehmende Digitalisierung der Arbeitsprozesse und der proportional dazu wachsende Bedarf an Koordinations- und Verhandlungsaufgaben im Team waren Rahmenbedingungen auf denen die Projekte aufbauen.
The framework conditions on which these projects are based include intensified competition for the best talents, ever more mobile and more variable job descriptions and working times, the increasing digitalisation of working processes and the proportionally increased need for team-based coordination and negotiation tasks.
It has generally been demonstrated that the growing demands made of human skills and global mobility are generating fully new demands on the office building of the future.Workplaces which have so far been designed for economic efficiency are increasingly being turned into service centres for their staff, they are developing into seminar and training centres and not least into important places where the brands of the company are presented and promoted.
Social, mental and creative efficiency are the new success factors – from an economic point of view, too. The projects of the Sedus Research Studio show that it’s not just the work stations themselves which will develop into PLACES 2.5, but that the town planning and architectural structure of our future head office buildings will undergo radical changes.
The aim of this publication of the results is to provide architects and planners with new ideas and inspiration.
Nils Becker, Tobias Lutz
Dipl. Architects ETH
Management Architonic AG, Zurich
Social, mental and creative efficiency are the new success factors – from an economic point of view, too. The projects of the Sedus Research Studio show that it’s not just the work stations themselves which will develop into PLACES 2.5, but that the town planning and architectural structure of our future head office buildings will undergo radical changes.
The aim of this publication of the results is to provide architects and planners with new ideas and inspiration.
Nils Becker, Tobias Lutz
Dipl. Architects ETH
Management Architonic AG, Zurich