The Toolbox office space in Torino, Italy.
I got an email a while back about Toolbox, a professional incubator in Torino, Italy.
From the material describing the space:
The project is believed to meet the needs of a city in a phase of substantial transformation.
At a time when, with a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection, it is possible to work from anywhere, the question emerging is what professional space is needed for. How is it possible to design a space combining users’ plurality with the coherence of the whole design? How is it possible to mediate between a need for socialisation and privacy, between relaxation and concentration?
From the functional point of view, the project consists in the creation of an open space with 44 individual workstations combined with other services and activities. The goal has been to keep the modular concrete structure unaltered.
The main span of the building has been divided lengthwise by a series of ‘filter volumes’ used as technical spaces for storing lockers and equipment. On one side, there is the co-working space, on the other side, the corridors and the functional ‘box’ containing shared facilities such as meeting rooms, print rooms, informal meeting spaces, mailboxes, a patio and a kitchen.
Sounds good, but what really knocked my socks off was these pictures:
That is just stunning!
What I like about this space is not just that it’s colourful and inspiring – that’s nice but it’s only a start. What I especially appreciate is that it caters to to many different working styles and personalities. Some people thrive in a large open space others hate it like the plague. For some tasks you may prefer one area – for other tasks
The true crime of many office buildings these days is both that they’re drab, uniform and boring but also that they assume that everybody is the same and only offer one type of working environment.
Your take
How about your workspace? Does it inspire you at all? Does it work for you and your wo-workers and does it allow for different working styles for different tasks?
Really loving the phone booth here. And obviously, yes the workspace matters. Otherwise I wouldn’t be looking at you Mr. Kjerulf, while writing this ;)
If you haven’t already, check out the stunning shots from the 37 Signals office: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2593-official-pictures-of-our-new-office
This is really nice! I’ll definitely show this page to my architect friend. :) I agree that workplaces should now adapt to the various working styles and preferences of each employee. Most of the office spaces in the past are focused on product and efficiency, but they instill loneliness, pressure and depression. Here’s a nice book that talks about that: http://www.depressionatwork.com. Hopefully the business-owners of today will now learn how to keep everybody happy. :D
Can only agree with what other people are saying, what a brilliantly designed office. I like how each room/office area is defined by a colour, with the red and brown blocks in one of the pictures. Also like the relaxed look of the reception area.
Love the texture on the walls which divide up the office space. I think the lighting along the top and bottom edges of the wall make this whole design spring to life – truly inspiring and creates a fantastic reflection on the floor which gives a feeling of more space.