6 Inspiring Modern Workspaces That Are Reimagining the Office

With more workers returning to offices around the globe, designers and clients are working together to create spaces that cater to worker, environmental and community needs. Here are six examples of modern offices that pave the way to a healthier workspace. 

1. "New," Asnières

Built in 2021, “New,” Asnières is a project by Dubission in Asnières-sur-Seine, France. The office building has a post and beam structure with glued laminated timber that can handle substantial loads. 

The floors are crossed layers of wood that provide the offices with thermal insulation and provide stability. Combined with a prefabricated wood frame, the features provide a sustainable facility. 

It features an abundance of natural light via photovoltaic panels, sunscreens and terraces. The panels also help provide in-house electricity for the building to run on. The angle of buildings allows the sun to light almost the entire space during the day without utilizing artificial bulbs.

Each floor has dedicated outdoor spaces for workers to enjoy. The floor plan is intentionally designed for businesses to adapt the building to their needs without sacrificing comfort or sustainability. 

2. Watershed

Watershed in Seattle, Washington, opened in 2020 as a regenerative office building committed to its local environment as it operates. 

The building contains bioswales filters that capture stormwater from an overhead bridge and filter it before it enters the Lake Union salmon migration route. 

Manufacturer Weber Thompson estimates that the technology cleans over 400,000 gallons of polluted runoff yearly, helping to preserve endangered species. A shed roof captures an additional 200,000 gallons of rainwater for reuse. The roof also provides a habitat for local bees. Builders locally sourced the construction materials and ensured they didn't contain toxic chemicals.

Employee and visitor comfort is also a priority for the space, offering interactive art pieces, open terraces and educational information about the work the building is doing for the community. It has self-tinting electrochromic glass which reduces glare while still letting in plenty of natural light and views. 

3. Ombú

Ombú in Madrid came to life in 2022 and is a collaborative venture that retrofits a historic building and has a mix of public and private property. 

Foster Partners created the office and commercial space from a room built in 1905 to supply energy to parts of the city. The new building uses the existing brick structure to support new steel trusses and make the building process more environmentally friendly. Combined with the exterior design, they preserved over 10,000 tons of the original brick. 

The building’s landscape goes to the Álvaro station for all to enjoy. The interior comes from sustainably sourced local timber integrated with ventilation and lighting. A staple is a skylight centralized so abundant natural light spreads through the facility. It is topped with photovoltaic technology to produce electricity for the space. 

Employees have a flexible working environment with an expansive courtyard and a 12,400 square-meter park. Native plants conserve water and cut emissions. The company says its location in Arganzuela encourages workers to use public transportation.

4. Hotspot Skyhub

Hotspot Skyhub is a series of coworking spaces in Bucharest, Romania. Biroarchitetti built it in 2022 as a commercial and office space. The elongated building has two floors with a main entrance on the 14th floor and a worker rest area below. 

The floor plan flows in a continuous circular strip of wood from the floor to the front desk, kitchenette, seating and planter. The relaxation area treats team members to a sustainably built indoor lounge and open bar with a city view. 

Though the floors are separate, a tower connects them using mirrors to connect them symbolically. Each coworking space is easily adaptable to the employees’ needs. Striped lights are strategically placed around the structure to let plenty of natural sunlight inside while preserving the interior’s privacy.

5. JTC CleanTech Three

An office, commercial and research lab built in 2022 sits in Singapore’s Jurong Innovation District. It is an 8-block business park with a focus on clean technology. Architects 61 PTE LTD designed it as the country’s first eco-business park, focusing on both work and play. 

A central atrium is the heart of the structure, supplying natural ventilation and light to the surrounding laboratories and start-ups. It has communal bridges and breezeways that allow workers to travel throughout the park and interact with visitors and other team members. 

The design aspires to retain the local landscape, including its creeks, slopes and other topography. The company preserved the existing wildlife corridor on the property. You can find stone, brick and terracotta inspired by the earth and fire theme of the business park. The labs have a scalable design that workers can adapt to their ongoing research needs. 

Windows span the vertical length of these buildings, bringing in sunlight and providing views of planters that can help inspire aspiring innovators. 

6. Belkin International Headquarters

In Los Angeles, HLW constructed Belkin’s new International Headquarters in 2022. The design aims to be both modern and timeless with a diverse floor plan. The company says it focused on creating a human-centric design that minimizes Belkin’s environmental impact.

It has public and private zones allowing teams to meet indoors or outdoors. Public zones have natural materials and a warm color palette, bringing a comfortable atmosphere for events, meetings and training. They connect to a redesigned courtyard and are separate from the private laboratories and secure workrooms. 

There are ways for workers in private zones to interact. The rooms interconnect at The Circuit, a landscaped terrace, and the Grove, a collaborative space filled with light from an overhead skylight. A conversation pit sits next to The Circuit to encourage collaboration. 

The Design Lab focuses on bringing ideas to life and tests and packages the products. An on-site team photographs them for marketing purposes and designs retail spaces. Its vendors can come into the room to further collaborate with the brand. 

Belkin had furniture created to fit the company’s product design focus from inception to execution. 

Reimagining the Work Space with Modern Touches 

Maximizing the potential of today’s offices involves a collaboration of newer technologies with natural elements to encourage productivity and creativity in the workspace. These offices are changing the game for future innovation.