Sedus WHAT'S UP Blog

Workplace Design 08/04/2026

Cognitive Zoning Instead of Uniform Space

The office is currently undergoing a fundamental transformation. For a long time, openness was considered the guiding principle of modern workplaces: communication, interaction and transparency defined spatial design. Yet with the growing density of digital stimuli and the rise of hybrid working, a different priority is coming into focus – the ability to concentrate.

In an environment shaped by constant connectivity, the office is becoming one of the few places where focused work can be deliberately supported. However, this challenge can no longer be addressed with standardised layouts. Instead, it requires a more nuanced and differentiated approach to space.

Open-plan office with large windows, multiple desks, and sound-absorbing booths where people are working or sitting

Wellbeing 06/04/2026

Reducing noise in the office: How to improve room acoustics with effective noise control

It’s hard to concentrate when phone calls, conversations and the constant tapping of keyboards dominate the working day. Reducing noise in the office not only creates a quieter environment, but also boosts productivity, well-being and overall employee satisfaction. But how can you achieve effective acoustic control in the workplace – and which measures genuinely make a difference to improve room acoustics?

Open-plan office space with circular seating areas, large round ceiling lights, plants, and a man working on a laptop inside a transparent cylindrical booth

Workplace Design 03/04/2026

Shaping focus: Multisensory design for concentrated work

As part of a comprehensive cultural and organisational transformation, Ford Otosan commissioned the design of its new headquarters in Izmit, Turkey, as a forward-looking working environment. The aim was to meet the requirements of hybrid working models while creating spaces that optimally support both collaboration and individual concentration.

Open-plan office with multiple people working and interacting at desks and standing in a bright space with large windows and plants

Workplace Design 01/04/2026

Collaboration in the office: collaborative spaces as the key to modern teams

Collaboration in the office has undergone a fundamental transformation in recent years. Rigid workplace structures are increasingly giving way to flexible concepts that promote communication, creativity and productivity. At the heart of this development are collaborative spaces, which are specifically designed to foster teamwork and facilitate interaction between employees.

Person sitting at a desk in a modern office with exposed brick walls, large window, plants, and lounge seating area

News 30/03/2026

Hybrid working: the advantages of working from home vs. working in the office

Hybrid working has long since evolved from a trend to an integral part of modern working environments. The combination of home office and office brings together the best of both worlds – greater flexibility, higher productivity and stronger employee loyalty. But how exactly does a home office and an office differ? And what advantages does hybrid working offer companies and employees?

Wellbeing 25/03/2026

Sit Generously, Focus Better: Comfort as a Driver of Productivity

Contemporary workplaces are defined by openness, interaction and fluid collaboration. Yet wherever communication thrives, so too does the need for retreat, concentration and mental clarity. Productivity today no longer resides solely at the traditional desk. It emerges from a thoughtful interplay between focused work, informal exchange and restorative pauses.

This is precisely where se:hive comes into its own: a modular retreat that unites spatial generosity, comfort and acoustic performance in one coherent design concept.

Open-plan office space with white and yellow sofas, large potted plants, circular ceiling lights, and a digital information display

Workplace Design 20/03/2026

A working ecosystem for focus, exchange and autonomy

What does an office that truly meets the requirements of hybrid working look like? The new headquarters of Gruppo CAP in Milan provides a convincing answer across an area of 3,020 m². The project, by Alterstudio Partners, shows how working environments are evolving from classic offices with fixed desks to flexible, user-centred ecosystems.

Workplace Design 18/03/2026

Sedus Hub Berlin: Urban Work Café Spirit – With Space for Focus, Calm and Connection

Berlin is energy, culture, movement. At the same time, it is a city where the transformation of the working world has become especially visible: co-working spaces, cafés, creative meeting points – “third places” are part of everyday life here.

It is precisely within this environment that the Sedus Hub Berlin was created: as a showroom, as an inspiring meeting place, and as a vibrant space where modern work culture is not only presented, but truly lived.

The Sedus Hub Berlin is not a traditional exhibition space. It is a place that makes the spirit of Sedus tangible – inviting visitors to experience, explore and rethink contemporary work environments.

Modern office space with groups of people working and conversing near large windows and minimalist furniture

News 16/03/2026

New Work Trends 2026: How new working models are changing the office world

New Work has long been more than just a buzzword – it has become the strategic model for modern companies. In 2026, the New Work trends are clearer than ever: flexible working models, a stronger focus on well-being, new forms of collaboration, innovative space concepts and sustainable solutions are having a lasting impact on the office world.

Modern office space with a high-backed brown booth containing a laptop on a small black table, a coat rack with hanging items, and light-colored armchairs around a low table with two cups

Workplace Design 13/03/2026

Designing for Concentration: What supports our ability to focus – and what stands in its way

Concentration has become a defining capability of contemporary working life. In hybrid environments shaped by digital communication channels and open spatial concepts, it is increasingly under pressure. The latest edition of Sedus INISGHTS N° 20 “Focus in the Office” therefore addresses a fundamental question: how can workplaces be designed to reliably support focused work?

Modern lounge area with a white sofa, two black armchairs, a low coffee table on a patterned rug, a wooden shelving unit with books and plants, and large windows separating an adjacent seating area with pink chairs

Workplace Design 11/03/2026

Lounge furniture in the office: How New Work Lounges are changing modern working environments

The world of work is changing. Hybrid working, agile teams and project-based collaboration are shaping everyday office life. Traditional rows of desks are increasingly being replaced by flexible room concepts. Lounge furniture plays a central role in this, not only offering comfort but also enabling new forms of communication, creativity and relaxation.

Two people working separately in adjacent hexagonal booth desks with laptops and office supplies

Wellbeing 27/02/2026

Peripersonal space (PPS): The neuro-logic behind good workplace design

Why do we feel immediately focused in some workplaces and constantly distracted in others? Why does an open-plan office sometimes exhaust us more than the actual task at hand? The answer lies not only in noise levels or interruptions. It runs deeper: into the way the brain processes space, stimuli, and safety.

Open office space with se:hive room solution featuring a curved high-backed booth with table and stools, surrounded by various seating areas and circular ceiling lights

Workplace Design 25/02/2026

Cognitive zoning made easy: se:hive as a flexible tool for planners

In hybrid working environments, digital and physical forms of work merge into a dynamic whole – with constantly changing requirements for spaces, users and tasks. "Focused work as a scarce resource" has become a central issue: according to Sedus INSIGHTS N° 20, modern working environments must not only promote interaction and exchange, but above all enable targeted concentration. Open-plan spaces need differentiated zones that help employees choose the right place for their respective tasks. This means less rigid departments and more sensory and functionally coordinated zoning of the space.

Collage of five photos showing various hospitality spaces including a social hub entrance, a lounge with yellow chairs and a staircase, a seating area with a green tiled wall and 'LOST SOCKS' sign, a bar with a bartender, and a rooftop pool with 'ROME AROUND THE WORLD' text on the pool floor.

News 20/02/2026

Hybrid hospitality: What offices can learn from hotels and third places

In a working world increasingly characterised by mobility, flexibility and hybrid working models, office spaces face a major challenge: they must be places where people not only work, but also enjoy spending time – places that facilitate focus, exchange, inspiration and community. This is precisely where a concept that originated in the hotel industry but has long since crossed the boundaries into new work comes in: hybrid hospitality.

Wellbeing 12/02/2026

Energy Management Instead of Time Management

Why focus depends on energy levels – and how spaces enable micro-breaks and movement.

For decades, productivity was primarily organised around time: working hours, meetings scheduled, utilisation rates. Yet in today’s hybrid working reality, it is becoming increasingly clear that time alone is no longer a reliable metric. What truly matters is not how long we work, but with how much energy we bring to those hours.

Sedus INSIGHTS Nº 20 highlights why concentration is not a matter of discipline or scheduling, but closely linked to individual energy levels – and what role work environments play in supporting them.

Workplace Design 11/02/2026

Balancing Concentration and Collaboration

Tetra Pak in Tokyo and Warsaw is an inspiring case in point: a project by tp bennett that illustrates how to strike the right balance between highly stimulating spaces for collaboration and networking and low-stimulation environments for quiet, focused work – while adapting to different cultural contexts.

Open-plan office with large windows, featuring textile privacy pods in green and blue, and seating areas with modern chairs and small tables on a rug.

Workplace Design 09/02/2026

How textile retreats become a productivity lever

Open working environments stand for exchange, transparency and dynamism. At the same time, studies and everyday experience show that noise, visual stimuli and a lack of places for retreat are among the biggest productivity killers in the office. The solution lies not in choosing between openness and isolation, but in intelligent intermediate zones. Textile retreats such as se:hive demonstrate how acoustics and privacy can be used as levers to enhance wellbeing and focus.

Two modular se:hive seating units in an open office space, one beige with two people seated inside and one blue with a single person seated, both designed as semi-enclosed retreats.

Workplace Design 06/02/2026

How se:hive enables retreat and focus in open spaces

For years, open working environments have been synonymous with exchange, transparency and collaboration. They promote interaction, accelerate communication and strengthen corporate culture. At the same time, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that openness alone is not enough. Concentrated work – the basis for quality, clarity and productivity – requires protection, quiet and control over the immediate environment.

News 03/02/2026

Open Front, Strong Back: The Dual Design of se:cove in Planning Practice

In open-plan work environments, it is not only what is placed in a space that matters, but how it is perceived from different perspectives. Furniture becomes a spatial element: it structures areas, guides movement, shapes sightlines and subtly influences behaviour. This is exactly where the dual design of se:cove comes into play.
The lounge chair has two clearly defined “faces”: an open, inviting front and a strong, structured back. This contrast is not incidental, but a deliberate design decision – and a valuable tool for spatial planning.

News 30/01/2026

Quietly Sculptural: How se:cove Shapes Space

Open spaces need character - but not noise. In today’s modern work environments, work cafés, and hybrid zones, the goal is no longer simply to fill square metres, but to create atmosphere. With se:cove, Sedus enters a new era of soft seating: a lounge chair that makes a sculptural statement while offering exactly what open-plan spaces demand today - calm, retreat, and presence.