Yes, it’s that time of the year.
Business-focused website Inc.com has published their list of the top offices in the world and it’s another chance to get inside the workspaces of some of the most innovative and creative office designs on the planet.
What we like about their yearly articles on the best of the best is that they don’t just breeze over nine or ten workspaces. They get in-depth, launching more than a dozen pieces on various offices and design elements around the world.
In this post, we’re pulling a few of the concepts we loved the most, not only because they’re amazing, but also because we believe they can kindle some creativity in you.
The Castle Full of Bears, Star Wars and Employees
If you take a stroll through Gloucestershire, England, you’ll probably notice a massive Victorian castle and the steady stream of people going in and out of it.
Inside that Victorian castle is the headquarters of Money.co.uk, and what a headquarters it is.
The designers and architects the company hired brought a sense of wildness and modernity to the offices without sacrificing the traditional appeal of the castle itself. Bright colors and trendy furniture pieces sit alongside aged walls revealing the weathered history of the building.
Our favorite aspect of the offices? It’s a tie between the neon-paint splatter knight’s armor and the ice room, where comfy seating is couched in an Arctic setting featuring a giant stuffed polar bear.
The Moss Wall at LinkedIn’s Headquarters
Bringing the outdoors in has been a popular trend in the past few years, no doubt a desire to make the workspace a more holistic, natural space that doesn’t feel like a 9-5 prison yard.
The concept has produced beautiful office spaces in London, Lisbon and Stockholm, but we want to focus on a unique element of LinkedIn’s San Francisco offices: the fern wall.
The wall was designed by IA Interior Designers and features varying shades of moss swirled into circles. When you look at the living wall, you get the sense that you’re flying over a forest swirled with trees of different shades of green.
“IA Architects used different kinds of moss to create a living wall with more depth and texture than your average patch of grass,” Inc. wrote.
ByteCubed Gets Geometric in Virginia
The first thing we noticed when we saw photos of consulting company ByteCubed’s offices was the pervasive use of angles. Everything from the chairs in their lobby seating area to the designs on their wall to the company’s logo itself are replete with angles.
Perhaps our favorite feature of their Arlington offices is the cubby holes they’ve integrated into one of their office walls. The three geometric spaces include angled walls for reclining, soft recessed lighting and cushioned seats.
ByteCubed plays it straight in the dining area, where long white granite countertops, bar seats and picnic tables provide the perfect place for eating and meeting.
King’s Office in Stockholm Is So Much Better Than Candy Crush
King, the app maker who created the insanely popular sequencing game Candy Crush, has what could be considered the most incredible office in the world.
Located in Stockholm, King’s offices feature a “forest” comprised of silhouetted metal trees, carpeted “stone” terraces, pockets of fern and plenty of sunlight.
The company has even incorporated bean bag chairs camouflaged as rocks.
Here’s a sneak peek at this fascinating space:
Every New Office Design Starts Somewhere
Don’t get caught up in comparisons. Do, however, pull bits and pieces of each of these offices and consider how you can integrate these into your current office.
You may want to transition from full-blown cubicles to panel extenders that provide enough privacy for productivity and enough openness to connect with co-workers.
We can work with you to incorporate these changes. Head to our Contact Us page to send us a message or give us a call at 888-323-5126.