contact_magazine_#37_EN

Edition 37
Guide to building
a healthy office
New Work office layouts:
giving structure to the office
Offices from across the world:
Booking.com campus, Amsterdam

Is sitting the new smoking?
“A day in the office without moving is the same on a health basis as
smoking a pack of cigarettes!” – US physician and oncologist David B.
Agus is being deliberately provocative with this statement, of course, in
an effort to focus attention on the important topic of prevention. Our
guest author, Wojciech Czaja, has expanded on this, addressing healthy
nutrition too, in the cover story. The result is a guide to building a
healthy office.
We ask ourselves a highly topical question: how can we create an optimal
working environment in challenging times? The answer is simple:
by providing structures! The implementation of these ideas can be
complex but entirely feasible, as the story on page 8 shows.
Then we call for attention to a commonly underestimated topic: room
acoustics. There are solutions available from Tante Lotte Design that
promise even a dual benefit!
After that, we accompany Pac-Man to the Munich-based foobar Agency
and make a detour to the new Booking.com campus in Amsterdam. In
Munich, we discover a real boost to creativity and productivity, while in
Amsterdam we see a prime example of the implementation of measures
designed to promote health.
On top of this, a remote junkie meets a desk potato. And finally, a
motivational office chair concept is bound to bring a smile to your face.
Enjoy reading!
Guide to building a healthy office ..........................................04
Give structure to your office! .................................................08
Listen up – now we’re talking acoustics ................................10
Reference story: foobar Agency ..............................................12
Trendwatching: useful ideas for everyday office life ...............15
Remote junkie meets desk potato ..........................................16
Offices from across the world: Booking.com, Amsterdam ......18
What’s on your desk, Max Thinius? ........................................21
Office life: let’s be friends!. ....................................................22
Balanced nutrition in everyday office life ...............................23
Ergonomics with shared desks and coworking ......................24
Showroom: motiv office chair ................................................26
Laura and Markus Wiesner
Publisher: Wiesner-Hager Möbel GmbH, Linzer Strasse 22, A-4950 Altheim, T +43/(0)7723/460-0, altheim@wiesner-hager.com, www.wiesner-hager.com,
thinknewwork.com; concept/editor: Wiesner-Hager, mintmind Communication GmbH; layout: mintmind Communication GmbH,
guest author: Wojciech Czaja; typing and printing errors reserved; 11/2023.
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Office Concepts
Guide to building
a healthy office.
In tangible terms, important homework has been done in recent years by organisations,
the planning sector and the office furniture industry – and they have
created a lot of healthy offices. Now it’s all about tightening the last still remaining
screws in relation to soft, intangible factors. This also includes healthy nutrition.
He recommends swallowing aspirin to prevent
cancer, describes high heels as a risk for inflammation
and even made a very drastic comparison in an
interview once, saying: “We have studies that prove
that movement is a major contributor to health. On
the other hand, spending an entire day sitting in the
office without moving at all is the same on a health
basis as smoking a pack of cigarettes.“
US physician and oncologist David
B. Agus, author of “The Lucky
Years: How to Thrive in the
Brave New World of Health” and
“A Short Guide to a Long Life” is
one of the world’s most controversial
famous names of medicine. He
has previously treated Steve Jobs,
Lance Armstrong and Edward
Kennedy, sees prevention as the
key to the future and, yes, divides
opinion with his provocative statements:
on the one hand, they make
tricky health topics accessible to
the public and easy for
anyone to understand; on the other,
they also bring critics into the arena. But
is there any truth to his provocations?
The body
has to
remain in
motion.
cases, according to Raviola, sitting for too long
without moving at all can lead to circulatory and
metabolic problems. But the brain also suffers: “In a
motionless body that remains in the same position
for hours on end, the neurons and synapses work
differently from a body that experiences variety at
regular intervals.” Just like they say for apples: some
movement a day keeps the doctor away.
For the classic office workstation,
the expert therefore recommends a
high-quality swivel chair with lumbar
support and ideally with a mechanism
that is adapted to the weight of the
body and reacts dynamically to even
the smallest movements. “The body
has to remain in motion, both while
seated and when moving between
different postures throughout the day,
such as sitting, standing, walking,
lying and balancing.” This means that,
if the work situation allows, team
meetings and some desk work really
should be carried out while standing.
In some companies, activation of the body has even
been introduced into restaurants. Anyone who
wants to can have lunch at a standing table.
“I would be cautious about applying his aphorisms
1:1 to the world of work”, says Viennese
health scientist Sonia Raviola. “But if you take
a closer look at the activity of sitting,
then David B. Agus’ statement
does at least have a kernel
of truth. Sitting continuously
for eight hours,
as was still officially
the case with a typical
office job a few years
ago, doesn’t exactly
have a positive impact
on your physical and
mental health.” In
some
It is not only at the desk and in the canteen that
movement plays an important role, but also in
the yoga or fitness room, provided that this kind
of space is avail-able to employees. “It’s not about
doing a workout, building muscles or working up
a sweat with cardiovascular exercise”, says Raviola,
“but about moderate mobilisation of the body, even
if just for 20 minutes.”
In the interests of a healthy, transparent and authentic
corporate culture, this space should also be used
by senior and middle management, where possible.
She continues: “And certainly not just in the
morning and at the end of the working day, when
most people have already gone home, but during the
core working hours. After all, movement is a central
pillar of the five sub-modalities that are important
in behavioural and conditional prevention.”
© iStock
These five sub-modalities, to use the technical term,
include moving, nourishing, learning, resting and
lov-ing, which, in the context of work, can be
translated into the sum of social contacts,
beautiful moments and an aesthetic, visually
appreciative environment. Only if all these
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Office Concepts
© iStock
five sub-modalities are taken into account and find
expression in the workplace you can speak of a
healthy office, in Raviola’s view. “A good, healthy,
balanced menu in the canteen is just as important
as a work environment with aesthetically pleasing
furniture and products as well
as the opportunity for upskilling in the form of
coach- ing, training, seminars, conferences or
educational leave. All of this contributes to a healthy
workplace.”
If you ask people involved in occupational and
health psychology at the moment, they will tell you
that soft factors such as nutrition, movement and a
social work climate in fact play a central role and are
perhaps even the biggest lever for achieving a healthy,
feel-good job now that many employers have well
and truly done their homework with regard to an
ergonomic, well-functioning workplace. “Healthy
food in the workplace”, says Graz-based occupational
and health psychologist Christine Korak, “is one
of the most important and, at the same time, easiest
parameters to implement.” Large companies with
their own canteen need light, high-quality menus,
while in smaller companies with up to 30 or 40 employees
they should have the opportunity to prepare
their own meals with the help of a specialist.
“But more and more often”, says Korak, “businesses
are turning to external, sustainable delivery services
– the likes of mjam, Foodora or Lieferando in the
B2B sector. And the supply of green, healthy dishes
delivered fresh to the office every day is growing all
the time.” What usually happens is that the employer
rents a suitable reheating oven with the monthly
participation fee and employees, with a corresponding
subsidy, can obtain regional, freshly prepared
food for just a few euros. And yes, it takes more than
just a green apple in the organic food box. Based on
model and standard of quality, various certifications
can be obtained for “green” cooking, ranging from
Grüner Teller (Green Plate) to Grüne Haube (Green
Toque).
Bernhard Kern, CEO of Roomware Consulting
GmbH, even holds the view that the design and
furnishing of social meeting rooms – specifically
includ-ing cafés, restaurants and informal meeting
places – present one of the key requirements and
challenges that employers will increasingly face in
the future. “A good canteen, beautiful and respectful
furnishings, and an open and flexible corporate
culture that allows you to work the whole day in the
canteen with your laptop and caffè latte if you want
are important assets that should not be underestimated.”
According to Kern, these factors are important
tools for recruiting and employer branding, especially
in a market that is currently being shaped partly
by employees due to the shortage of labour.
Salzburg-based occupational psychologist Christian
Blind, who focuses on evaluating mental stress in
the workplace, also advises companies to pay more
attention than ever before to the work-life balance.
“With the coronavirus pandemic, much of
what we had constructed up to that point disappeared
in one go. The meteoric rise of home-based
work, new digital communication tools and
extremely dynamic developments in recent years
mean that we now have a lot to learn and establish
again.” This is not only an investment in efficiency,
productivity, fewer sick days and both subjective
and objective wellbeing in the workplace, but also
a necessary measure under the Austrian Employee
Protection Act (ArbeitnehmerInnenschutzgesetz,
ASchG), according to which it has been mandatory
to conduct a regular physical and psychological
evaluation of the workplace since 2013. “The only
problem is that not all companies are aware of this”,
says Blind.
As good as the average office has now become, as
much as the focus is naturally on ergonomic furnishings,
on good acoustics, on appealing lighting,
on ecological building materials and on the proven
health-promot-ing greening of indoor and outdoor
spaces, which has now become part of planning
practice – almost all experts see a clear need to catch
up in one area, namely the indoor climate. The range
of experiences in the industry includes too cold, too
warm, too dry, too draughty and too intolerable.
Even in many new buildings, the unanimous observation
is that there are repeatedly climatic problems.
“The indoor climate is probably the only parameter
that does not come with an average value, on which
basis it is also therefore not possible to make a
generally valid, generally representative statement”,
says Sonia Raviola. “That’s because temperature is
perceived differently by every-one – partly due to
physical condition and partly due to aspects of gender.
The fact is that women and men fundamentally
feel temperature differently for fat burning reasons.”
The subjective perceived delta lies between two and
five degrees Celsius.
So, what can we do? “Talk about it openly and
respectfully, and deal with the issue constructively”,
recommends Raviola. “Just as we have succeeded in
meeting the demands of a healthy office in so many
respects already, I am confident that this point too
can still be solved – not with a universal solution,
but with a catalogue of individual adjusting screws.”
Wojciech Czaja
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Office Concepts
How to plan New Work office layouts properly.
Give structure
to your office!
Well-functioning New Work offices consist
not of a (random) collection of creative room
shapes and an Instagram-ready lobby, but of
structured office layouts, which create an optimised
work environment.
Homebase
The new significance of the office space.
The current trend towards more home-based work
and remote work, fuelled by digitisation and AI, is
changing the importance of the company office significantly.
According to the L&R Social Research institute
in Vienna, around 25 % of employees now work
remotely from home for at least part of the time. In
the USA, this quota is already significantly higher
at approximately one third. In the future, it will
therefore increasingly be a matter of how employers
manage to avoid the imminent loss of corporate
identity and fill the resulting void in the offices.
Creating work options.
Due to space efficiency and saving requirements,
the increasing numbers of employees working from
home will naturally lead to space consolidation in
company offices. Shared spaces are growing in number,
permanently assigned workstations are increasingly
being called into question and replaced or supplemented
with flexible work options that provide
the best place to work for each job. Unfortunately, in
practice, this often results in a wild mix of different
room shapes, without regard for corporate culture,
productivity, acoustics and ergonomic requirements.
It’s all about being trendy.
Hub
Giving structure to the office.
If you want to give more prominence to creative and
collaborative areas in your office building – and you
definitely should because these will be the main concerns
of future offices – then you need a clear spatial
structure. This calls for planning concepts and office
layouts with sensibly demarcated zones: quieter areas
(home base) for focused working, team meetings and
video conferences; and public zones (HUB areas)
for inter-departmental collaboration, creative project
work and social exchange.
A spatial mix of the quieter home base with generally
more lively HUB areas should be avoided at all costs
because otherwise disturbance is unavoidable. Giving
structure means decentralising these two overarching
zones in the plans within the constraints of the
building.
In the home base, short distances ensure fast access
to the relevant infrastructure, such as the technology
island, coffee kitchen or sanitary facilities. Even
in the open team offices, or open units, it should be
possible to work without being disrupted – with
few frills and little distraction. Acoustically shielded
retreats are available for confidential conversations.
In contrast, the public HUB areas allow a lot of
organisational and creative freedom, with the aim
of promoting collaboration and creative exchange.
Inter-departmental room types, such as coworking
landscapes, creative spaces and corporate campus,
create new working and communication opportunities.
They are the breeding ground for boosting corporate
identity and innovation. The home base areas
will tend to shrink in the future because the increase
in the proportion of employees working from home
will lead to space consolidation in the direct working
environment. In contrast, the HUB areas will become
more important and will be expanded.
Attractive New Work offices bolster innovation
and employee retention.
The tension between working at the office and working
from home can be reconciled much better by
planning company offices so as to make them more
attractive and needs-oriented. Structuring office
landscapes properly not only boosts company innovation,
but it is also an important lever against the
shortage of skilled workers. Strengthening employee
retention and thus reducing recruitment pressure
appears to be an effective counter-strategy. Smartly
designed offices that meet the demands of flexible
and agile working contribute enormously to this.
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Interior design
© Tante Lotte Design GmbH
Psssssst! Listen up –
now we’re talking acoustics.
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Pay attention because room acoustics is an
underestimated topic that absolutely must be
taken into account right from the start when
planning an office. We asked Gernot Wurm
from Tante Lotte Design GmbH some of the
most common questions about acoustics.
Of all the aspects that require consideration in office
planning, acoustics play a pivotal role. Tante Lotte, a
company which produces innovative and sustainable
acoustic solutions made from Tyrolean sheep’s wool
that also meet high design requirements, deals with
this issue. “The acoustics in offices are particularly
important because the noise level rises directly here,
reducing the ability of employees to concentrate.
At the same time, this makes it difficult for people
to make telephone calls or hold conversations. Poor
room acoustics also lead to employees tiring more quickly,
which lowers productivity”, says Gernot Wurm,
an expert from Tante Lotte.
Reasons for poor acoustics.
So, how is it that rooms end up with poor acoustics?
“Having too many reflective surfaces such as glass, concrete
ceilings and wooden floors, etc. creates a longer
reverberation time, making it harder to understand
what is being said by another person. As a result, people
automatically start speaking more loudly. The overall
noise level rises and is often stressfully high”, explains
Wurm. To counteract this problem there are a number
of tips and solutions that can sustainably improve the
overall room acoustics: “The use of sufficiently
© Tante Lotte Design GmbH
sound-absorbing materials, ideally on walls, ceilings or
as free-standing elements, promotes healthy acoustics
in the office. The ratio between reflective surfaces and
room volume and sound-absorbing materials must be
correct. The calculations for this can be made individually
for each room”, reveals the acoustics expert.
Solutions with dual benefits.
Acoustically effective materials can have multiple
functions and thus be doubly useful as, say, room
dividers or design elements. In modern office space
planning, in particular, it is important to combine
acoustic elements and office design skilfully. “One
way is to integrate the elements discreetly in the
background using understated wall panels or ceiling
sails. Design elements with image motifs are also very
popular as another option. A further smart solution
are adjusting elements that are used simultaneously
for zoning and as pin boards”, says Gernot Wurm,
describing the options.
© Tante Lotte Design GmbH
About Tante Lotte:
With its Whisperwool, Tante Lotte is
known for innovative and sustainable
acoustic solutions, made predominantly
from Tyrolean sheep’s wool that meets
the highest design requirements. Its
acoustic solutions harmonise with the
materials of contemporary architecture,
such as stone, glass, concrete or wood.
Whisperwool also has a positive effect
on room ergonomics as it absorbs sound
and toxins.
www.whisperwool.at
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Reference story
foobar Agency:
An homage to Pac-Man.
There can’t be anyone who is not familiar with the iconic slot machine game Pac-Man in which
the puck-shaped figure has to guzzle its way through a maze while being pursued by colourful
ghosts. The pixelated retro design of the game was taken by the digital consulting company
foobar Agency from Munich as a graphic template for its office. In the form of pixels, the Pac-
Man style runs through all the rooms, complemented by design elements from Star Wars and
Back to the Future. The office concept was realised by office4you Büroeinrichtungen GmbH. The
furnishings for the workstations, meeting rooms and café area came from Wiesner-Hager.
© office4you Büroeinrichtungen GmbH
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© office4you Büroeinrichtungen GmbH
Time for a restart!
The building was originally an old boiler
house. After the renovation, foobar occupied
several floors and forged a new world of work
with a creative interior design and a New
Work concept in an industrial style. The entrance
area itself, with its colourful LED logo,
already illustrates the company’s digital focus.
The colour scheme runs through every area,
and yet each room is a one-off. “All in all, it is
a unique space in which the team really feels
like being creative and productive and which
also acts as a magnet for new talent”, says
office4you, summarising the overall concept.
Level up! More than just
classic desk work.
The office workstations were arranged as an
open space area. Ergonomics are especially
important here. All desks are equipped with
electric height adjustment, making it easy
to switch between sitting and standing. Not
only does this promote creative thinking,
but it also prevents long-term damage to the
musculoskeletal system. The swivel chairs encourage
dynamic sitting and are also impressively
comfortable. In addition to the classic
work areas, the focus is also on creative zones
away from the workstation. Smaller middle
zones as lounge islands, but also technically
well-equipped conference and meeting rooms,
allow a change of perspective in everyday
work as well as video meetings and hybrid
conversations. Between them are phone boxes
for working without any disruption and for
making phone calls. The kitchen, with seating
and standing spaces, is somewhere where staff
can come together, but it can also be used as a
working café.
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Reference story
Trendwatching
All in all, it is a
unique space in which
the team really feels
like being creative
and productive.
Useful ideas
for everyday
office life.
Forest – stay focused,
be present.
This app increases productivity and has
a positive impact on the environment.
A virtual seed grows into a tree during
focused work. Users can then donate the
virtual coins they earn in the app to plant
real trees.
www.forestapp.cc
© office4you Büroeinrichtungen GmbH
© Forest
Well played! Digital meets biophilic.
Even though the office has much gaming interior,
the digital vibe is counterbalanced with biophilic
elements. Lavish plant arrangements have been used in
the sparser office workstations area. Plant towers and
moss images combined with LED strip lights create
an exciting symbiosis with the colourful, pixelated
elements and provide for a cosier ambience throughout
the office. To sum up, this is a trendy office with
an individual design that does not lose sight of the
essential requirements of a workplace.
At Pac-Man, they would probably say: Good game!
You’ve beaten the high score!
© office4you Büroeinrichtungen GmbH
© Deltahub
Carpio 2.0 – ergonomic
wrist rest.
This ergonomic wrist rest from Carpio
improves the position of the wrist when
using a computer mouse. Its elegant design raises
the wrist by about one centimetre to reduce strain.
This makes it even more comfortable to work on the
computer and also looks after the health of the wrist.
www.deltahub.io
Project data:
Food à porter – elegant lunch
box from Alessi.
Client: foobar Agency
Location: Munich
Total area: 500 m²
Office concept/realisation: office4you
Furnishings: Wiesner-Hager: etio desk,
poi swivel chair, yuno stacking table, puc stacking chair,
float_fx cabinet system, nooi barstool and skid-base chair
The items in the “Food à porter”
collection provide a convenient way to
take healthy food and drinks into the
office, to the park or even on journeys.
The lunch box is made of high-quality
thermoplastic resin and combines
functionality with aesthetic sophistication,
inspired by Japanese bento boxes.
Design: Sakura Adachi
www.alessi.com
© Alessi
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Office Life
Remote junkie
meets desk potato.
Seven different New Work employees.
New Work is not only changing the way we work, but also creating completely new
employee types. We introduce seven different New Workers.
© Envato
Desk potatoes
These are the equivalent of the
couch potato – nothing and no
one will take desk potatoes away
from their workstation. They
have no interest whatsoever in
working from home or remote work.
Their personal workstation is their comfort zone,
which they are very reluctant to leave. Desk potatoes
work meticulously and reliably as long as they don’t
have to leave their home base to do so.
Remote junkies
Today working from home,
mobile working on the train
tomorrow, workation in Sicily
next week – remote junkies find
somewhere to do their work whenever
and wherever, and preferably
away from the office. They are fully mobile with their
technical equipment and prepared for any internet failure.
Their mobile, notebook or tablet is of a size that
is practical and convenient for travel and has survived
many a hard-core workation. Remote junkies indulge
their desire for freedom in their job too and need a
change of scenery on a regular basis.
Office nomads
The day starts with checking
emails in the focus zone, then
a casual lean coffee meeting in
the working café, followed by
a video conference in the phone
box. Lunch, with a good chinwag
included, is taken in the activity garden. Straight after
that, documents have to be reviewed in the silent
room. Finally, it’s time to get creative and to scribble
all over the whiteboards at a scrum meeting. – Office
nomads are proponents of activity-based working and
wander from one room to the next. They have checked
out exactly which area is best suited to which task and
move through the entire office landscape like nomads.
Home workers
You only know them from the
screen because they work predominantly
from their homes. We
are talking about home workers.
Employees of this type have made
themselves comfortable at home.
Their office at home is so well-equipped that it is only
necessary to visit the company office in exceptional
circumstances. However, they are diligent when it
comes to video conferencing. And they are never
without their cat and their tracksuit bottoms.
Networkers
As the name suggests, networkers
are extremely well-connected
both within and outside the
company. They know everyone,
and everyone knows them. They
already know about the latest news
and rumours before something actually happens. To
maintain their level of knowledge, they are constantly
doing the rounds. Like office nomads, they use the
space available, but mainly to meet as many people as
possible with whom they can enter into conversation.
Sporting aces
Sitting down for long periods is
an absolute no-go for sporting
aces. Without a height-adjustable
desk for which the height can
be changed every hour, this type of
employee would not be able to survive
a single day. Discussions standing up or walk & talk
meetings are a must for sporting aces, as are extended
walks during their phone calls.
Co-workers
Co-workers are usually freelancers
or members of a start-up. In
order to find connection in an
inspiring workspace despite the
usually small number of colleagues,
co-workers travel between
shared offices. They are flexible and
are satisfied with the next free workstation; it’s all
about life in the office. They are therefore very sociable
and love to interact with all sorts of people.
© Freepik
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Offices from across the world
The whole world
in Amsterdam.
Welcome to movement, you imagine you can read
written in the air in floating letters as soon as you
enter the nine-storey atrium. Wrap-around galleries,
leaning and suspended stairways, wooden undersides,
plenty of natural light and a green, lush jungle on
walls and balustrades invite you to bypass the lifts and
instead walk through the foyer and climb the floors
of the new Booking.com campus on foot, under your
own steam.
“That was precisely our goal,” says Ben van Berkel,
founding partner of the architectural firm UN Studio
based in Amsterdam. “Booking.com is a global travel
and hospitality provider and has become a symbol
for journey, adventure and movement. We wanted to
reflect these qualities in the new campus. Not only do
you move from one office area to the next, you also
travel to different time zones and cultural spaces as
© Hufton+Crow
you go from A to B.” For that reason, the conference
rooms and meeting rooms have names like Greek
islands or are called, say, Rio de Janeiro and Panama
Canal. There are 28 of these “micro-holiday destinations”
in total (according to Booking.com).
The new campus is located on Oosterdokseiland,
around 500 metres from the main railway station. On
the former logistics wasteland at the corner of water
between the port basin and the IJ canal, UN Studio
has created an expressive crystal with arcade walkway,
ceramic tiles and a glass façade that seems to zip together.
The building can be ventilated naturally via triangular
windows that open outwards. The more fresh
air is allowed in, the more fragmented the reflection
becomes of the sky, clouds, ships, containers and
blue-yellow, double-decker trains passing along the
neighbouring railway embankment. But the biggest
asset of the new 65,000 m² campus, developed in collaboration
with Bouwfonds Property Development
(BPD), is that it brings the team together. Until now,
the 6,500-strong workforce was spread across a total
of twelve locations all over the city; now they are all
in the one place, as they should be.
© Hufton+Crow
The new Booking.com campus in the heart of the Dutch capital boasts a whole
range of green, health-promoting measures. We take a walk with architect Ben
van Berkel from UN Studio.
© Hufton+Crow
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Offices from across the world
What’s on your desk?
04
“And in this age of digitisation and an ever stronger,
increasingly emancipated employee society”, says van
Berkel, “it was important to the client right from the
outset to invest in employer branding and to use the
new campus as kind of a recruiting machine.” This has
worked. The building includes several cafés, canteens
and restaurants; the food comes from Powerplant and
offers organic dishes with only little waiting time. The
green space planning, with vertical wall gardens, botanical
green islands and a winter-proof roof terrace,
is the responsibility of Makers of Sustainable Spaces
(MOSS). The work areas, consciously designed to be
healthy and ergonomic, are a collaboration between
CBRE and interior planner Hofman Dujardin.
As a response to the disruptive coronavirus pandemic,
which turned the previously established working
culture completely on its head, employees were
involved in the conception phase. The results of this
participation process were incorporated in particular
into the design of the foyer and the adjoining “we”
places as well as into the dimensioning and equipment
of the bicycle garage.
“But also behind the scenes”, says Ben van Berkel,
who has a separate health department in his own
office, “the building makes a valuable contribution to
the issue of health. We dispensed with toxic, pollutant-emitting
building materials, established sustainable
and moderate temperature control of the building
with the help of groundwater from the adjacent IJ
River and installed an open ventilation system instead
of the usual circular one, which has been able to reduce
the transmission of pathogens.” This has resulted
in a significant decline in sick leave statistics as well as
certification with the BREEAM Excellent seal.
Wojciech Czaja
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06
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07
05
08
09
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© Hufton+Crow
The building
makes a valuable
contribution to the
issue of health.
© Hufton+Crow
© Max Thinius
What’s on your desk,
Max Thinius?
© Max Thinius
“The future doesn’t come; it is shaped, and we’re the ones who shape
it!” Unlike most people looking towards the future, German futurologist
Max Thinius appeals to our self-responsibility and creative
capacity – and this makes him one of the most successful and soughtafter
crystal ball professionals in Europe.
He also applies the principle of mastery in shaping the immediate environment
to his own workplace. After all, even though he has a desk
in his study in his apartment in Berlin-Kreuzkölln, most of the time
this desk serves as a place to store his books, cameras and all sorts of
stuff. He himself prefers to work sitting down, lying down, lounging
on the couch, in a café, on a train, on his notebook, on his smartphone
– as long as it’s paperless.
“But what I attach all the more importance to”, says the man in the
hat with the orange brim, his trademark since 2015, “is an atmosphere
that inspires me: with colour, with a past, with unexpected cracks.”
That’s why, for example, a luminaire made from deer antlers hangs
from the ceiling. How did he get that? “Oh, that’s a long story!”
Other anecdotes are no less fascinating. We paid him a visit.
Wojciech Czaja
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The study used to be orange, like almost everything in my life
– the colour of kindness! But that got a bit much after a while.
The walls are now somewhat more muted.
An old Biedermeier sofa that I bought ages ago at an apartment
clearance for 200 marks. Newly upholstered, really comfortable!
An old poster by Guillermo Tapiello, one of the most famous
poster artists in France. “L’Oie d’Or”, I love this foie gras motif.
It’s very funny: if I position myself precisely, I look like I’m
wearing the crown when I’m on Zoom.
Not everything can be chic, otherwise the apartment would look
like an ad agency. Now and then, you also need deer antlers in
your life.
A tablet is also enough for easy work. I use it to photograph all
my bills and notes before I go paperless again.
A ceramic pot with a silver glaze. A time-forgotten relic with
pens and an old letter opener for the occasional letter that
arrives.
I have two old Nikon SLR cameras. I do take photos with them,
but I mostly play with them while I think. The clicking helps sort
my thoughts.
My orange Stanley thermos, filled with my favourite water,
Acqua Panna. I admit that I’m a little peculiar in this regard.
My business card box; this is my network, a mix of keepsakes
and active contacts.
I had a carpenter make the sideboard. The small Flowerpot table
lamp by Verner Panton used to be in our apartment in Copenhagen;
now it lives in Berlin.
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Office Life
Office Life
Enjoy your lunch!
But be sure it’s healthy.
Balanced nutrition in
everyday office life.
Let’s be
friends!
Why good colleagues motivate us and tie us to the company.
Employees working full-time spend around
1,700 hours in the office every year. That’s
quite a lot of time at our place of work. So, it’s
no wonder that interpersonal contact, such
as our relationship with our colleagues, is so
critical to job satisfaction.
The number 1 motivator is sitting
next to us.
They solve tricky Excel problems, provide Post-its
and highlighters if we need them, and keep us company
during breaks too. A working day can be long
and exhausting – our colleagues are our immediate
social contacts during this time. So, the importance
of getting along well goes without saying. But new
survey findings reveal that these social contacts are in
fact the top motivation booster in a job. According
to a study by the Manpower Group, a good working
relationship with colleagues and superiors is ranked
number one among the top motivations for a job, at
46 %. If there is a positive atmosphere in the team,
this has a direct impact on the work ethic. Finally,
24 % of respondents said that frequently working as
part of a team and together with colleagues was important
to them. Almost one in three stressed that it is
equally essential to have a good rapport away from the
actual work. If instead the mood in the team is frosty,
not only does the motivation decrease during work,
but the willingness to change jobs also increases.
Joint activities foster team spirit.
What does this mean? If employees are to be retained
by a company for the long term, the human factor
must not be ignored. Team-building measures such as
excursions, after-work activities or employee involvement
in decision-making processes, but also a bit of
informal chatting, make the atmosphere more relaxed
and can ensure a good team spirit.
It is important to note that not every single colleague
has to become a really close friend. Sometimes it is
also about reaching a compromise on an objective
level where there are conflicting goals and interests
in order to maintain harmony within the company.
If you want to get along well with others, you should
above all become the colleague you would like to have
yourself. This means showing honest interest, being
respectful of others and spreading a positive mood.
Being too distant, on the other hand, is counter-productive
because we like to surround ourselves with
people who care about us.
Busy, starving and very little time. In that case,
it will probably be the nearest snack stand
again for lunch – not exactly healthy eating.
How you can still enjoy a balanced meal in
everyday office life.
Avoid cravings.
According to a study by Thermohauser on the topic of
nutrition in offices and when working from home, 82 %
of participants felt that healthy nutrition has a positive
effect on work and the atmosphere at work. So, this is
reason enough to look at this topic in more detail and
to analyse a few nutritional fundamentals.
It all begins after getting out of bed. If you are craving
food, you will happily grab some junk food and
something sweet for convenience. The remedy is to
have enough breakfast in the morning. And no, a cup
of coffee does not count as breakfast. Whole-grain
bread or porridge can help get the day off to a good
start and to fill you for a few hours. But if you do start
to feel hungry before lunch, it’s advisable to eat some
fruit, vegetable sticks, nuts or a slice of whole-grain
bread rather than anything sweet. Snacks
that are particularly sugary and fatty
cause the blood sugar level to rise
very quickly, which satisfies you only
for that moment. After a short time, it
plummets, leaving you feeling hungry
again. Healthy snacks are quite different.
The concentration of blood sugar rises
very slowly and also falls again just as slowly.
This means that you feel full for
longer.
Simple meal
prep ideas:
Keep energy levels high.
Nutritionists recommend a light but still satisfying
meal at lunchtime. Healthy options consist of complex
carbohydrates such as those contained in whole-grain
products, vegetables or fruit, healthy fats such as
vegetable oils, nuts, fish or avocado, and plant-based
protein from flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, beans, lentils or
chickpeas. If you don’t have access to a canteen or other
catering establishments (or if only hearty dishes are
offered), you can help yourself by cooking a lunch meal
the day before that only needs to be warmed up during
the break. This alternative is both cost-effective and
tailored to you. You are not reliant on a limited menu,
but can prepare the dish according to your own needs.
Drinks matter too.
It is not just food that is important for a balanced diet.
Drinks play a central role. It is generally recommended
that you drink at least 1.5 litres
per day. Water or unsweetened tea
is best. Consuming fizzy drinks or
too many caffeinated drinks often
Salads
Pasta Dishes
Wraps
Stir Fries
Stews and Casseroles
Curries and Soups
Sandwiches
Porridge
leads to fatigue and lethargy. If
you drink enough water, you will
have the energy you need for
your work and avoid headaches
and tiredness.
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Office Concepts
Not to be neglected:
Ergonomics with shared desks
and coworking areas.
Ergonomics – an important topic not just for classic workstations. It can be especially
challenging to achieve good ergonomics with shared desk solutions and shared work
areas. After all, these workstations are used by different people, and this calls for a
constant adjustment of the work area to their physique.
The basics.
But let’s start with the basics of
ergonomics. First and foremost,
it is important to use an ergonomic
office chair that allows
dynamic, flexible sitting. It must
be height-adjustable and provide
good back support. The desk
that goes with it should
have a sufficiently large
working surface of at least
160 x 80 cm. Integrated
height adjustment is an
advantage here too. The
workstation must be
arranged parallel to the window so that the
light can enter laterally, preventing any glare
or reflections. Curtains and blinds create the
necessary dimming. If daylight is no longer
adequate, artificial light with an illuminance
level of approximately 300 lux is required in the
immediate working environment. Notebooks
are used almost exclusively when working at
shared desks. For this reason, external screens
should also ideally be provided. Additional
benefits: keyboard and mouse.
Desk sharing: intuitive
customisation.
There are quite a lot of requirements
that an ergonomic workstation
should meet. While some
of the aforementioned aspects of
the infrastructure are predefined,
it is left to the user to customise
the swivel chair and desk. It must
be possible to precisely adjust the
office chair, in particular, to the
height of the employee concerned
to enable ergonomic working.
the backrest suspension. This
eliminates the need for manual
adjustments, except for the
height of the seat, resulting in an
intuitive sitting experience. In
order to be able to use the desk
quickly and easily at the right
height, a model with electric
height adjustment is
recommended. This
allows the table to be
adjusted and customised
in seconds at
the push of a button.
It is also possible to
work while standing,
which relieves the spine and prevents any
discomfort to the musculoskeletal system. In
coworking spaces, in particular, a lot of work
is done away from the classic desk. Here too,
ergonomics should not be forgotten.
Sofas and other upholstered
furniture are often used in silent
rooms or creative zones. Side
tables, shelving and notebook
boards as well as readily available
electrification can help promote ergonomic
working in such room scenarios in the
best possible way. For shared desks and
coworking, the ethos is therefore: the less
complex, the better! Fast adjustability,
simple use, intuitive operation.
© Shutterstock
With constant changes of user, this
can become a real time waster in
the long term. In addition, many of
the setting options are sometimes
not used or not used correctly.
Having office chairs with automatic
weight detection can help here. The mechanics of
the chair react to the user’s weight. The more weight
the seat is subjected to, the greater the resistance to
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Showroom
Arrive.
Sit down.
Get started.
Swivel chairs make an important
contribution to ergonomics. In the
past, numerous norms and regulations
set ergonomic standards. A
whole range of individual setting
options were made available –
settings that, unfortunately, were
often not used or not used correctly
in practice. With motiv, Wiesner-
Hager has developed an office chair
that is geared to the changing work
situations and needs of users. The chair encourages
dynamic sitting and focuses on the core ergonomic
requirements: support for the passive musculoskeletal
system and supply of nutrients to the intervertebral
discs by promoting micro-movements of the muscles.
What’s more, what the IT world understands by usability
also applies to office chairs: major simplification
of use and intuitive operation instead of numerous
adjustment levers. Many users have neither the time
nor the inclination to worry about fine-tuning a swivel
chair: “Arrive, sit down and get started” is the motto.
The increasing decentralisation of work also means
that workstations are used more frequently by a variety
of people. Not least for this reason, office chairs
should be functional immediately without neglecting
ergonomics.
I wanted to
create the
feeling of enjoyment
when
sitting down
in the chair.
components by allowing the kinetic forces
of its materials to take effect. A pre-tensioned
spring made of high-strength polymer
plastic reacts to the user’s body weight
when sitting down: the more weight
the spring is subjected to, the greater its
resistance. This automatically regulates
the pressure on the backrest, creating an
intuitive sitting experience. motiv is able
to accommodate a wide range of users
from 50 to 120 kilos very well.
Design concept that focuses on seating
dynamics and comfort.
Technically, the spring of the mechanism together
with the backrest support forms a kind of clamp that
elegantly connects the seat and the back. While the
outer contour of the mesh frame has a very dynamic
design, the seat promises a high level of comfort, both
visually and haptically. “I wanted to create the feeling
of enjoyment when sitting down in the chair. This
comfort was to be intensified not only by the generous
upholstery, but also by the pronounced horizontal
radius. Overall, the round shape of the seat is in
contrast to the rather technical, straight surfaces of the
mechanism, the armrests and the backrest”, explains
designer Andreas Krob, summarising the design
concept of motiv.
The modern working world is creating new demands on products. These should be immediately
functional, easy to understand and suitable for use by a variety of people. In
terms of office chairs, this means that no one wants to take the time anymore to adjust
countless levers in order to finally sit comfortably. This trend towards rigorous simplification
is reflected in the motiv range of office chairs with automatic weight detection.
Ergonomics rethought:
the twistbalance
mechanism.
The twist-balance mechanism
of motiv exploits the
advantages of a synchronous
mechanism and
dispenses with the complexity
of conventional
mechanisms. It enables
automatic weight
detection with very few
but all the more flexible
Design:
Andreas Krob
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Does my furniture fit into the room?
Configurator with AR function.
Can you imagine configuring products according to personal taste and ideas and subsequently even testing
them in your own space? This practical feature can be found on the Wiesner-Hager website. Each product can be
individually designed with the furniture configurator. Using the Augmented Reality (AR) function, the configured
product can be viewed directly in your own premises on a smartphone or tablet.
Special benefit for planners: Products or set combinations configured online can also be integrated into the
planning in dwg format!
Discover the
configurator