The new office

NAME is excited to be working on two very different commercial projects at the moment. Although miles apart in Paris and Moscow, both exemplify the rapid changes in office design and the way in which the typology is evolving to respond to new global conditions.

With working from home a proven success, it is now more important than ever to create office environments which will encourage people back to a physical space once more. A new focus on well-being means that designs are prioritising open and green space, good air quality and high levels of natural daylight.

Our office project in Paris reflects the desire for spaces which facilitate social connection, help staff re-connect to strengthen organisational culture and increase outdoor space not just for leisure uses but also for work.

The project has been designed for a media company which had previously occupied two adjoining buildings. Now looking to accommodate hybrid working and also to have a more flexible and commercially viable base, they have moved their organisation into just one of the buildings, freeing up lettable space for a mix of tenants. Post-Covid the design focusses on creating an attractive environment, to not only encourage staff back, but also to attract a wide range of potential tenants.

The design priorities well-being with green spaces, balconies and multi-use external space. Ground floor uses are active, with outdoor seating, co-working and restaurants spaces designed to be shared by users of both buildings to create a more dynamic social mix where we can get to know our neighbours again after so many months of isolation. Interiors will be refreshed with a new colour palette and a variety of formal and informal seating options, in office and communal areas. The project will be complete by summer 2022.

Our Moscow office project addresses the importance of light for well-being and productivity. Designed for a city developer, the building optimizes lettable area for future occupation with floor plans which have been carefully considered to minimise circulation cores and create a high net to gross ratio of rentable spaces. Each floor can be let either as a single space, or divided into 2 or 3 separate entities. The ground floor is designed as an active urban space with commercial facilities arranged around attractive, open plazas.

A distinctive façade features organic shapes and natural materials and offers the possibility of a 3-sided open view towards the surroundings. The various functions, ranging from offices, semi-outdoor breakout areas and roof terraces are elegantly organised behind a unifying architectural screen. Overall, the tapered form of the building increases the amount of public space available at the foot of the building.

A wintergarden in the Photography Museum, Charleroi, Belgium, by L’Escaut Architecture.

Critically in Moscow, where the winters can be very long and very dark, an additional design priority has been to provide as much natural light within the building as possible. Passive measures such as siting and orientation are used to harness what light there is, and wintergardens are provided on every level, accessed via a communal circulation core to ensure that all tenants will be able to use them. In order to create an all-important sense of connectivity to the outside world while at work, building users will enjoy a daylight view on every floor, as they emerge from the lift.

Worldwide, the pandemic has forced us to re-evaluate value of office space, with a new emphasis not just on well located prime real-estate, but on the quality of work environment and social experience it offers. The changing priorities of tenants mean that green, outdoor space, along with flexible, adaptable and multi-use environments, is likely to be a requirement for the foreseeable future.