When Marja Ruigrok of Ruigrok | Netpanel needed a new home for her offices, she knew she didn’t want something simple and bland. She wanted something with a little more substance, more heart, if you will. So, instead of your standard, crummy office building, Maria’s new offices were selected to live in an old concrete silo in Amsterdam. Rough, bare-bones, and filled with industrial goodness, we think it’s safe to say that this open space certainly brings takes that modern workspace appeal to a whole ‘nother level.
Since the space was literally ‘completely-open,’ Maria had to make some changes to accommodate all of her required office needs. Things like separated meeting-rooms, interview-rooms, etc. had to be accounted for, but how did she do it without destroying that nitty-gritty industrial feel?
The answer’s quite simple. Toss a huge “research-BOX” in the middle of the space. This clever invention holds the extra meeting-room, interview-room and waiting area. “Like a big crate, of what seems to be huge pieces of plywood, glass and steel, it sits between the big concrete columns right next to the entrance. Some other, more informal places to sit are on the extra floor that hangs between other columns. Here you can get together and discuss projects under the concrete silos that hang from the ceiling.”
As far as tech implementation goes, we’ll just say it’s good that they’ve got all of their tables facing each other around a single floor outlet area. By doing so, there are no trip hazards anywhere around the office and it really keeps everyone in close proximity to maximize communication. Whether or not that’s really a good thing is another question.
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