In pursuit of an ideal Flow State
Located in a busy street of a busy city centre, this relatively small office for an expanding team required a solid but flexible design objective. The project aspired that through design, it would try and capture a perfect Flow State in which during an activity, be it individual work or a process of reflection and brainstorming, the person is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, a sense of full involvement, and perceptive and sensory awareness. With a balance of many equally important aspects of a working process that were observed during the time spent with the team, the intention was to create alternative workspaces that inspire a mental state where the user is mindfully absorbed in the activity, resulting with transformation in one’s sense of time by way of increased productivity.
The small team of the applied cybernetics company Bitsapphire – is often caught in a workflow that alternates between team brainstorming and creative individual work. This pushed us to think of designing two different spaces in which these two types of ‘flow states’ can be developed interchangeably: teamwork and creative individual workspace.
An additional space was planned for the more formal activities like small meetings, consultations, and closed conference calls, set in floor-to-ceiling glass panes with roll-able translucent shades to maintain auditory privacy yet allow for a visually open space full of natural light. In addition, the office has a small, highly-functional kitchen, and a high plant shelf that is well lit and acts as a living separation between spaces.
Jungle Workspace – Individual Creative Workspace
The Jungle Workspace began as a crucial necessity for multi-use alternative workstations. The limitations of the space were used to an advantage very suitable for the team, where this specific design would give each user a semi-private workstation in a set of the very qualities of space that were vital for the productivity and efficiency required, as well as effortless attention on their work. The design enables a variation of work positions ranging from sitting on the floor, to standing up. Alternating between different positions rather than a continuous seated one is recommended and can be very healthy for the body.
The colour dynamics of the workspace mean to aid focus and calmness with cool colours while in close proximity, yet be visually engaging from afar to boost inspiration through warmer hues. An added element of moss and lichens planted in integrated containers acts as a low-level break between workstations as well as a small-scale visual barrier for better focus.
Crew Deck – Teamwork
In order to support a connection in a more traditional way of work which consists of discussions, brainstorming, and collectively coming up with solutions, the team desk was designed to do just that: enhance communication between team members.
To support the needs and requirements of the team and their unique methods of working, the shape of this workstation was determined through automated analysis of movement, prioritising an unobstructed visual connection between the users, which resulted in a completely computer-generated contour that encourages these specific qualities of the work setting and flow.
Crew Deck was designed by Architecture for Humans and built by Greatwood
The Jungle Workspace was designed by Architecture for Humans, built by Greatwood and hand-spray painted by Katertekater.