Office

At the end of 2012, Google opened its new Tel Aviv offices, which feature an array of creative and uniquely themed office landscapes. Covering 8,000 square meters (86,111 sq.ft), the offices are spread across seven floors with each floor designed around a different theme. These include Culture & Heritage, Friends & Family, Joy & Optimism, Energy & Vitality, Innovation & Hospitality, Dream & Delight and Humor & Fun.  Read More

Dutch architectural firm OMA recently won a design competition for the Essence Financial Building in Shenzhen, China, with a concept that abandons western conventions for more contemporary ideas. Among other attributes, the plans call for shifting the elevators to the side instead of the center to allow for more creative office designs, and removing the exterior walls from the middle floor to create a large skydeck.  Read More

The 60-story Zhengzhou Greenland Plaza, the tallest building in Zhengzhou, the capital city of central China's Henan province, officially opened its doors for the first time earlier this month.  Read More

Buro Beehive transforms disused buildings into flexible workplaces for creative entrepreneurial types. These sorts of "co-working" spaces are becoming ever-more familiar features of modern cities. Beehive's new BEEBOX offers something new, however. These secure, mobile self-contained one or two-person offices may just give its work hubs an edge.  Read More

Fancy brainstorming and attending work conferences in a modern treehouse set among the treetops of a pristine forest landscape? Well, four Belgian companies Sappi, The Flemish Forest and Nature Agency, Hechtel-Eksel and Proximity have made it possible by commissioning the construction of a modern treehouse conference center. The “Treehouse” was built by German architectural studio Baumraum, who created the Entre Cielos Treehotel we covered earlier this year and while we also loved the British Eco-Perch, this treehouse project has given us some serious office envy!  Read More

The rejuvenating power of naps has been known about for some time, with various studies showing that even a short nap can increase alertness. While a nap of around two hours is of most benefit as it encompasses all stages of sleep, a power nap of up to 30 minutes is certainly better than nothing. It's not long enough for you to enter deep sleep (and consequently risk feeling worse than before), but it's long enough to take the edge off your need to actually go to bed. Whether such evidence would ever be enough to persuade a company to provide designated areas for workers to sleep is unclear, but CalmSpace exists for that very purpose.  Read More

It's a positive thing that we're all different; that humanity isn't made up of automatons who all have the same wants, needs, and desires. Unfortunately while each of us can furnish our homes in whichever way we see fit, the same isn't true of our places of work. Those who work in offices generally have to make do with whatever furniture is provided, even if it doesn't suit their individual needs. Providing options is therefore a good strategy, and XTable from Holmris offers nothing but options.  Read More

Apple is dead serious about this so-called post-PC era. Productivity - long the biggest argument against tablets replacing traditional PCs - is gradually becoming more at home on the iPad. Apps like OnLive Desktop, Photoshop Touch, and iMovie have filled what were once gaping holes in tablets' capabilities for work. Apple may now be aiming to own a bigger piece of that pie, as it's rumored to be working on a cloud-based rival to Microsoft Office.  Read More

Many of us now do most of our work sat at a desk staring at a computer screen for hours on end. While this an inevitable part of modern-day living, it does present certain challenges to our health and wellbeing. A sedentary lifestyle isn't recommended, but it's often difficult to motivate oneself to visit a gym or do any kind of physical exercise before or after a hard day at work. So, what about doing some physical exercise during work?  Read More