LOOKBOOK No. 03 – Spaces for a New Reality of Work

It has become clear as we examine many projects that requirements for office environments have grown more diverse. Teams move between concentrated individual work, quick coordination and phases in which recovery or informal interaction take centre stage. For spaces to support these shifts, they need clearly legible zones, distinct atmospheres and offerings that can be used flexibly and adapt over time. 

Our latest Sedus INSIGHTS into focused work in the hybrid office underline one key point above all: focus does not happen by chance. It becomes more likely when people can actively shape their immediate environment - when stimuli can be regulated and when settings exist that offer both retreat and orientation. LOOKBOOK No. 03 builds on these findings and shows how such qualities can be made tangible through materiality, form, furnishings and spatial logic - in open-plan areas as well as in more differentiated workplace landscapes.

The LOOKBOOK is structured into thematic chapters that run like a guiding thread through today’s workplace questions: 

Materiality 

Materials have long been more than surface. They shape atmosphere, acoustics and haptics - and, in turn, how focused or relaxed we feel in a space. At the same time, material choices become a visible expression of responsibility. In the LOOKBOOK, we demonstrate how bio-based, circular and resource-efficient materials not only evidence sustainability, but also create genuine quality of experience. 

Hybrid Hospitality 

Workplaces are learning from places where people genuinely enjoy spending time: hotels, cafés, lounges and libraries. These “third places” bring back something that is often missing in purely functional office layouts: hospitality, warmth and social ease. Hybrid Hospitality stands for spaces that foster community while still offering reliable settings for retreat and focused work.

Neuro-inclusive Work Environments 

An office is not designed for “the average”. People differ in how they process stimuli, how quickly they tire and how much retreat they need. Neuro-inclusion does not mean creating special rooms for a few - it means offering a sensorially graduated diversity from which everyone can choose. This is a true marker of quality - for users and clients alike. 

From Sedustainable to S:ircle by Sedus 

Sustainability becomes tangible when circular systems work. With S:ircle by Sedus, a new logic comes to the fore: using instead of owning, renewing instead of discarding, reusing instead of producing from scratch. The LOOKBOOK shows how circular thinking becomes not only a goal, but a practical project advantage - for budgets, CO₂ footprints and flexible reconfigurations. 

Workplaces with Perspective 

What do spaces look like that will still be right two or five years from now? This chapter is about spatial resilience: zones that grow with teams, allow for changing roles and accommodate new usage patterns without requiring everything to be planned from the ground up. 

LOOKBOOK No. 03 is conceived as a collection of perspectives, materials, spatial ideas and project experience - making today’s workplace questions tangible. It illustrates how hybrid use, the need for concentration, informal encounters and sustainable choices can be translated into spatial qualities - not as a fixed formula, but as a range of approaches that can be further developed depending on context. 

At its core are concrete examples and principles that offer orientation: from atmospheric zoning to the effects of materials and colour, through to circular solutions and new typologies for retreat, exchange and regeneration. The result is a clear picture of how work environments can function today - flexible, human-centred and mindful of resources and long-term usability.

The LOOKBOOK delivers more than imagery  -it offers perspective, guidance and practical inspiration. We hope it will accompany you in your projects: as a basis for discussion, a source of inspiration or a tool for argumentation.