Sedus WHAT'S UP Blog

Workplace Design 13/05/2026

Spaces for Deep Focus: How Much Shielding Is Right?

For years, the conversation around the workplace was shaped by a single paradigm: Openness, Collaboration and Interaction.

Today, that perspective is shifting. In a world saturated with stimuli, the office is increasingly becoming what is often missing elsewhere: a place for concentration.

This shift raises a new design question:
How much shielding does focus require—and at what point does it become counterproductive?

Open-plan office with large arched windows, exposed brick walls, multiple desks with chairs, and plants near the windows

Workplace Design 11/05/2026

Flexible Office Furniture: Modular and Multifunctional Concepts for Modern Work Environments

The se:lab product family is designed for modern work environments and shows how flexible office furniture can transform everyday office life. With solutions such as the se:lab sofa and the se:lab meet desk, versatile, easily movable furnishing elements are created that support modular office concepts. These multifunctional pieces support agile working, spontaneous meetings, and creative collaboration. At the same time, they can be individually adapted and combine flexibility with thoughtful design and sustainable production.

Open office space with a long wooden table surrounded by green upholstered chairs and built-in wooden seating niches along the wall under pendant lights

Workplace Design 08/05/2026

Start it @KBC – How open innovation spaces can remain conducive to focused work

Open coworking spaces often face an apparent contradiction: they are meant to foster exchange, dynamism and creative energy – whilst at the same time enabling focused work. The Start it @KBC project in Antwerp shows exactly how this balance can be achieved.

Modern office lounge with multiple plants, wooden and upholstered chairs, low tables, and a sofa against a backdrop of large windows and dark curtains

Workplace Design 01/05/2026

Biophilic Design – How to improve the working environment with office plants

Working in green surroundings: The ‘biophilic design’ principle uses plants to create a pleasant office environment that protects against noise and poor air quality and helps improve concentration.

Panel of six people seated on stage in front of a large screen displaying the TrendOfis Summit event title and panelist names and photos

News 27/04/2026

Hospitality makes the difference: insights from Istanbul

At the recent TrendOfis Summit in Istanbul, one idea stood out: the office is no longer just somewhere to work. It is becoming a place that needs to welcome, support and engage people in a much more intentional way. In this blog post, Sinem Beaujean, Global Engagement Strategist at Sedus and panel moderator at the summit, shares her insights.

Workplace Design 22/04/2026

The Work Café as a Dual Modality: Social Exchange and Individual Focus – How Productive Environments for Concentration Emerge

It often begins inconspicuously: with a cup of coffee, a brief exchange, a spontaneous thought. Yet it is precisely in these moments that the potential of a space becomes clear - one that offers far more than a mere pause. The work café is no longer a peripheral feature; it is evolving into a central component of contemporary work environments. A place where interaction and concentration are not in opposition, but actively reinforce one another.

Open-plan office with people working at desks and standing, featuring ergonomic chairs, stools, and plants

Wellbeing 20/04/2026

More movement in the workplace: Why active breaks and dynamic sitting are so important in the office

For many people, sitting for long periods is part of their daily working routine – yet this is precisely what can lead to health problems and reduced performance in the long run. More movement in the workplace is therefore not a trend, but a necessity. Dynamic sitting and targeted active breaks in the office can not only reduce discomfort, but also boost concentration and productivity.

Open-plan office space with high tables and stools, whiteboards, plants, and natural light from large windows

News 15/04/2026

Office Trends 2026: This is what the future of work looks like in the New Work era

Office trends for 2026 clearly show that the office has long been more than just a place to work. It is becoming a strategic tool for businesses – a space that combines culture, innovation and well-being. At the heart of this are New Work trends that combine flexibility, sustainability and new spatial concepts, thereby redefining the future of work.

colleagues are sitting in an informal meeting

Workplace Design 10/04/2026

Soft Seating for Meaningful Conversations: How se:cove Redefines Informal Meetings

Long conversations need space. Not only in a metaphorical sense, but quite literally within the physical environment. While traditional meeting rooms are often designed for efficiency and structure, the most valuable dialogues tend to emerge in settings where atmosphere, comfort, and a sense of retreat come together.

This is precisely where soft seating comes into play - introducing a new quality of interaction in the workplace.

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?

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 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.

Wellbeing 04/03/2026

More Atmosphere, Less Space – How Dr. Stefan Rief Envisions the Future of Work

What will the workplace of tomorrow look like – and what kind of space will it require? This question concerns not only us at Sedus, but also Stefan Rief, Head of the Research Unit for Organizational Development and Work Design at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO in Stuttgart. As one of the leading experts in organisational and workplace design, he has spent many years researching at the intersection of people, technology, and space. We spoke with him about how work is evolving – and what places like the Work Café will need to offer in the future.

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.