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Office Space Design for Positive Transformation: Exploring New Trends in Shared Openness, Humanization, and Green Sustainability

Release Time:

2025-12-21

Office Space Design for Positive Transformation: Exploring New Trends in Shared Openness, Human-Centricity, and Green Sustainability

In advocating for people In today’s world of sexualization and personalization, office space design is undergoing continuous iteration and constantly breaking through traditional paradigms. Whether it’s a small studio or a large corporate headquarters, organizations are actively exploring how to foster communication and collaboration—and enhance employee well-being—through spatial optimization, seamless integration with nature, and cultural expression.

For this issue, we’ve carefully selected: 5 Relevant case studies of office spaces—from flexible workspaces repurposed from residential units, to brand headquarters that integrate local culture, to studios emphasizing interaction, and to innovative office buildings that highlight energy efficiency, openness, and community vitality—reveal... The positive transformation of office spaces has had a profound impact on modern life. 。

Balance work and leisure, and create a comfortable environment.

Thailand: Proud

Company: BodinChapa Architects

PROUD is located beneath a building in Bangkok, Thailand. The goal is to make the existing space meet the needs of architects and software developers. The design aims to make everyone feel proud and comfortable here, whether they’re working or relaxing. The design strikes a balance between workspaces and leisure areas. It’s not only designed for the team—it’s also very welcoming to visitors, such as clients, friends, and family.

This building was originally a row house, and its layout separated different functions, resulting in a limited and densely packed interior space. To enhance functionality, While preserving its unique characteristics, the designer extended the space to one side, seamlessly integrating it with the existing structure.

The new design includes raising the building to create an underground area and adding semi-outdoor spaces that are closer to nature, thereby meeting visitors’ diverse activity needs. Some parts of the existing building have had floors removed to reduce visual blind spots and enhance visibility between different areas. In addition, skylights have been incorporated to promote natural ventilation and bring in ample natural light, thus fulfilling the project owner’s requirements.

The architectural exterior is harmoniously integrated with its surrounding environment by extending the original roof slope over the pedestrian walkway and seamlessly connecting it to the adjacent green spaces. This carefully designed layout not only enhances visual appeal but also helps optimize the penetration of natural light throughout the interior space. Moreover, the clever arrangement of horizontal openings strikes a delicate balance between privacy and connectivity, creating an atmosphere that fosters both focused work and relaxation for employees throughout the day.

The architectural vision behind this building articulates a dual objective: on the one hand, to warmly welcome visitors; on the other hand, to infuse contemporary style into the context of the original structure. This alignment is a testament to the team’s collective efforts, as they leverage technology as a key tool to streamline and optimize the construction process.

Integrating forests, urban landscapes, and factory structures to create architectural spaces rich in local culture.

Taiwan: Liyang Development Headquarters

Company: He Feng Cang Fei Design Co., Ltd.

In this developer’s headquarters building, the factory’s steel structure forms the basic framework of the spatial layout, echoing its original founding context as a brick kiln. The space has been deconstructed and sequentially integrated. Unlike conventional commercial spaces, The design emphasizes “openness to the community,” presenting the brand’s vision to the public and seamlessly integrating reinterpreted factory aesthetics with the impression of Taiwan’s forests into the urban environment.

The design responds to the factory’s construction logic and the organic urban facade by deconstructing and reassembling architectural forms, blurring the boundaries between corporate architecture and open spaces that integrate public functions with retail activities. The fluid and open volume connects interior and exterior spaces, offering employees and clients a free-flowing urban experience.

Architectural composition follows the logic of “form follows function.” Just as control rooms are temporarily added to factories based on functional needs, these units are embedded within steel structural frameworks and positioned at angles that follow the site’s contours. The fan-shaped layout blurs the hierarchical order between the facade and the flow of movement. The volumetric variations created by continuous, curving spaces allow light and shadow to shift dynamically with changes in sunlight. The external staircase connecting the first and second floors is deliberately offset, echoing the fragmented character of the factory space. Materials commonly found in factories are presented here in their authentic form—almost entirely unadorned—preserving the raw texture of the industrial environment.

The overall volume is composed of layered and diverse geometric forms, maximizing the negative space between different volumes and incorporating transparent windows to allow the interior environment to subtly perceive the surrounding atmosphere. In the process of architectural deconstruction and reorganization, the open and fluid spatial form seeks to build a bridge between people and the city’s streets. A more intimate scale also encourages greater interaction between the building and the urban environment.

The section facing the street is designed with a café, a bookstore, and rest areas, while corporate functions are deliberately relegated to secondary spaces. This project redefines the architectural archetype of street-corner buildings in the newly developed urban area, enabling corporate headquarters to become more deeply integrated into the city’s public life. Echoing the organic nature of Taiwan’s forests and mountains, interwoven geometric forms create fluid and free-flowing circulation paths that run along the building’s perimeter, guiding people to move through, linger, and explore. Combined with carefully arranged landscaping and vegetation, this design fosters an atmosphere in which the natural wilderness gradually seeps into the urban environment.

Forests, urban landscapes, and factory structures are organic ecological types that Taiwan is familiar with. In this project, these three “highly Taiwanese” elements have been carefully integrated to create an architecture deeply rooted in local culture. It doesn’t stop at the formal level; rather, it goes further to reflect society’s inner state, presenting an intricate interplay among nature, architecture, and urban culture.

The Poetry and Philosophy of the “Cabin”

Beijing: Xi Gou Wooden House Studio

Company: Xi Gou Architectural Space Design

The “Xigou Architectural Space Design” Beijing studio is located in the Jingying Menggu Industrial Park on Guangqu Road in Chaoyang District. Inside, there’s a public staircase that originally served as the property’s warehouse before it was taken over by a milk tea shop. The space had a long, rectangular layout with north-facing daylighting. Situated at the very entrance of the entire industrial park, the site boasts a sizable facade and an outdoor seating area. However, the interior space itself measures only a modest 20 square meters. Adjacent to it stands a massive, uniquely shaped white building. Attracted by this distinctive site environment, Xigou Architectural decided to transform the space into a studio brimming with character.

The design team hopes to create a unique little haven that’s entirely its own, transforming this small, compact stairwell into a brand-new “home” brimming with even more possibilities.

The theatrical design reconfigures the original stairwell space, taking into account the skin and color characteristics of the surrounding architectural environment. It divides the space into two distinct zones using black carbonized wood and white sandstone paint. The black zone is nestled between two white architectural volumes, creating a strikingly clear entrance facade that facilitates pedestrian flow and guidance.

The entrance design is located at the boundary between the black-and-white zones and features a concave opening that enhances the facade’s three-dimensionality and highlights the display area, while also sparking curiosity and a desire for exploration. The concave opening extends inward, blurring the distinction between indoor and outdoor spaces. The entrance features an ambiguous, transitional space that creates different spatial configurations through three doors. When the store is closed, the rolling shutter door is closed; during office hours, the two room doors can be opened to create a seamless indoor space.

The corner features a curved design that echoes the adjacent site and street, providing a welcoming flow of movement while partially receding from the site’s redline. Transitional spaces are created through elements such as flower beds, seating, and shop windows, effectively separating indoor and outdoor areas and offering people more opportunities to interact with the building—such as pausing to linger or taking photos.

Inside, the cabin concept is carried forward, creating a space for reception and reporting. The television can be rotated, and a fireplace is embedded beneath it. Paired with straw-based artistic wall paint, this design fosters a warm and natural ambiance. The floor and ceiling are crafted from interlocking wood planks featuring annual ring patterns; within these neatly arranged planks, subtle natural curves and grain patterns are subtly revealed, perfectly echoing the site’s topography and the philosophy of “playful construction”—that is, in... Find poetry in reason, and return to reality through fantasy. 。

A large shared atrium space that fosters interaction and collaboration.

Germany: EDGE HafenCity Office Building

Company: HENN

In the former industrial port area to the west of Hamburg’s HafenCity, a new, multifunctional urban community integrating residential, office, and leisure spaces is gradually taking shape. The recently completed EDGE HafenCity project represents another key milestone in the Elbbrücken district. This energy-efficient office building not only fosters interaction and collaboration by bringing users together, but also welcomes visitors and local residents.

The new building consists of two parts: a square, seven-story structure and a tower located at the southwest corner, which rises to nearly 60 meters in height. The square grid structure provides the conditions for flexible use of individual office units.

The main entrance features a striking landmark—a two-story arcade paired with an 8-meter-wide overhanging eave. At the heart of the building lies an atrium open to the public, serving as the central space for communication and interaction. An open staircase winds its way upward around the central atrium, connecting all the floors; each flight of stairs is flanked by tiered platform spaces.

Abundant natural light streams into the interior through the atrium and large-area windows. Combined with plants, natural materials, and digital networking technologies, these elements collectively create a comfortable environment for both work and social interaction.

By establishing a close connection with the social environment through an open and diverse design, its red façade harmoniously blends with the urban fabric of the eastern part of the Port New City. All roofs of the building are designed as green roofs, with most rooftops densely planted with vegetation; furthermore, photovoltaic panels have been installed on the tower’s roof to provide renewable energy.

Shared spaces bring vitality to office buildings.

France: Facette Bordeaux

Company: Studioninedots

Image courtesy of Architizer

The project is punctuated by a series of distinctive shared spaces—extending from the ground floor along the facade all the way up to the rooftop terrace, thus creating a “social axis.” It is precisely these spaces that imbue the entire building with a community-like vibrancy and make it a place that truly resonates with contemporary working styles.

The plot is located at the corner of the central axis of Joliot-Curie Avenue. This exceptional location prompted the design team to make the ground floor as transparent and open as possible. Here, the space is no longer a traditional lobby but rather a “living room” that opens up fully to the city—a place where workplaces and public spaces converge. The building maximizes the integration of surrounding shared spaces, even “incorporating” the street scene into its interior. The striking concrete arcades deliver a powerful visual impact. The design team calls it “WeSpace”—a multifunctional space that’s ideal for working, relaxing, and spontaneous encounters.

Image courtesy of Architizer

The floor-to-ceiling glass wall seamlessly connects the ground floor to the adjacent pocket park. A vertical garden rises from the park upward, linked by an open staircase that winds through a series of outdoor green terraces spanning the entire width of the building, providing effective cooling during Bordeaux’s hot summers. The vertical garden ultimately leads to the top-floor shared space—a space offering a 360° view of the city of Bordeaux, where greenery and panoramic vistas coexist. 。

Looking ahead, flexibility is at the heart of the design. The architects opted for a load-bearing prefabricated facade and relocated one of the two evacuation staircases outdoors, thereby minimizing the core tube to its absolute limit. As a result, we obtain... The column-free, large-space design can be freely divided according to needs, easily adapting to future functional changes. 。

A unified grid system organizes the facade’s order, with window openings gradually increasing in size from bottom to top, seamlessly framing urban vistas layer by layer into the interior spaces. The exterior façade is crafted from precast concrete mixed with sand-colored mineral pigments, echoing the ancient stone architecture of Bordeaux while simultaneously exuding a texture and warmth uniquely characteristic of the present day.