Behind the scenes at the new office
As our work is becoming more and more immaterial, the meaning of physical workspace grows. And as companies grow and evolve, the needs for physical space are changing too. Last winter we were at a point where we faced the fact that our current space had grown stale, and slightly unsuitable for our needs. First our flock is growing. People dropping by the office were already sitting in the kitchen, meeting rooms and armchairs since they don’t have own desks. Secondly, the way we work has also been changing. Today we do a lot of user testing, and run workshops and seminars on top of our normal daily activities. So we really wanted a space to fit all these demands.
We spent around a month or so doing active office hunting. We saw a few of places that were nah, and a few that were ok. The biggest problem with office spaces seems to be that they look so… office-y. Like there is this standard of boring that every new office space has to meet. Out with the original details, in with electric poles, lowered ceiling and gray carpeting everywhere.
We wanted to find a place that is *us*. As we like to rethink everything, we also wanted to create an office that would be modular, fit all the needs and functions of our work, and have great feeling in it.
As an organisation we are as flat and self directed as they come. Everyone is a boss here, and co-creation is deeply engrained in our dna. Location was important — we move around a lot during the week, so the place had to be accessible by all means possible — bikes, cars and public transportation. Everyone had their say about what the new space should be, and it pretty much boiled down to having the right vibe. A lot of light. Plants. Open floor plan. Sofas and a hammock. Work lounge. Kitchen that allows us to cook together. Space for parties and seminars. Space for computer games and coffee machines. And space for bikes! And of course the space should facilitate different modes of working from having a quiet area for silent work, and a more relaxed area for working and chatting and drinking coffee. And our CD Sami had always secretly envied the large windows that our downstair neighbour Dynamo & Son has directly to the street.
A long list, huh? Well, we found it. We walked into a space that was in the middle of renovation, directly on the other side of the road, with a skeleton that ticked every box on our list.
The contractor was just starting to build walls, but we quickly draw our own version of the floor plan. Storage labyrinth, separate kitchen, toilet cubicles, all gone. The contractor cursed a little as they had only two months to go before finishing the space, but then made things to work. We signed the lease in May, and began to watch how our new space started to come together.
There was a long list of details to check. No, let’s not cover the original ceiling with drywall. Yup, it’s ok the the pipes are exposed. No, we don’t want to have baseboards. No standard office lights, but custom led solution please.
It wasn’t always easy. Since the space had an awesome original concrete floor we definitely didn’t want to cover it with carpet. Instead we envisioned an awesome shiny epoxy coating on it. Construction guys tried it. Too matte. Tried again. Perfect shiny yes, but it made the floor poo-brown. Running out of time. As usual we refused to settle for the second best, and someone suggested colouring the floor. Nor contractor or internet had ideas for how to do that, so we did it the freestyle. We bought four different shades of wood stain, applied it on the floor and coated the test squares with epoxy. One of the shades came out perfect.
While writing this, we have already gotten keys to the new space, set the housewarming date and are working on the last building projects like the main meeting room, kitchen island and plant wall. Our current office will go into boxes in three weeks. In October we will unpack them in the new space. A space that has shiny floor, inspiring vibe and room for new ideas and people. You are welcome to stop by to see for yourself!
