Modern Open-Plan Offices Like Google: Why Do They All Look The Same Now?

According to a survey by the Office and Working Environment Industry Association (IBA), 78 percent of employees are certain that workplace design directly influences their productivity. And indeed: creating well-being in the office is an important lever for employers to make themselves popular.

In short: beautiful interior designs with name vinyl wall stickers from providers like HappyWallz aim to encourage employees to be more creative – and possibly to stay in the office a little longer without checking the (time) clock.

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U.S. IT Companies Gave Birth To The Trend of Open-Plan Office Design

American IT companies have not only stirred up numerous industries and business models. They also shape the idea of ​​what the ideal working environment for modern creative workers should look like today.

The brightly colored Google offices in Hamburg (2001), for example, set a new standard for interior design in Germany: for the transformation of the office into a kind of amusement park and playground – with table tennis tables, golf carpets, quiet zones and wide, open rooms that were modeled on the inside of an indoor swimming pool area, a subway or a cabin.

Google is also valued as an employer because of its pleasant “workspaces”. No wonder German companies are also trying to attract attention with idiosyncratic interior designs. That they dream of crazy working environments, climbing walls and hammocks, ball pools, and conferences in the ski gondola. In the end, reality usually turns out to be a bit braver than the bold draft. But there is also an idea of ​​Californian start-up spirit in new German office landscapes.

Deutsche Telekom has made its corporate headquarters fit for what is called “future work”. There are no more cell offices, but lots of creative spaces. In the inner courtyard, there are “food trucks” for those who don’t like the canteen – and if you want to keep fit, you can borrow a “desk bike”, a portable ergometer for cycling at your desk.

L’Oréal, The Cosmetic Company Adapted The Design Too

L’Oréal. The 60-meter high house is called Horizon; With its projecting stories and all-glass facade, it looks modern, but not particularly ambitious. But inside the floors, laid casually on top of each other like building blocks, it has even more to offer.

The office spaces are open; there is no single office, no doors, and only walls made of glass. Everything here expresses transparency and democracy; even the eight managing directors work right in the middle. The furniture shines in white and light cream tones; there are quiet areas and 81 think tanks on twelve floors – small, isolated rooms for concentrated work. In addition, there is a library, several terraces, and lounge areas with furniture from a metropolitan café.