Community creation has been a major driver of the post-pandemic workplace. People want to interact with their colleagues and believe it’s a crucial aspect of productivity. But employers are also turning outwards, looking at how spatially supporting their surrounding communities can be beneficial to all.

People in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, China, India, Singapore and Australia work remotely more than two days per week on average, meaning that the office is only partially in use throughout the week; it’s often underutilized or even empty. And that doesn't even account for after-work hours or weekends, where offices go entirely unused. ‘I really struggle to see prime office space empty Mondays and Fridays when we’ve got schools and community groups that can’t find space,’ director of UK architecture practice TP Bennett Christopher Webb previously said to FRAME. ‘We need to join the dots and use terraces for community allotments or boardrooms as teaching facilities.’

Some employers have redirected their efforts spatially, not only focusing on social incubation within their workplaces but also on how they can be of service to the greater public. They are increasingly using their offices as third places, creating spaces that foster relationships and exchanges not dependent on monetary exchange.

Mason Studio’s Toronto office is a hybrid work and community space. In addition to a public coffee bar and give-one-take-one library, its exhibition space and consistent program of talks, discussion panels and other events help support the local community of young artists and designers.

The office as a place for the exchange of knowledge

Copenhagen-based design firm Space10 transformed the ground floor of its office into a porous public hub, comprising a library, café and events space. Visitors can browse through a library of books on topics such as climate and environment, architecture and urbanism, design and systems, business and economics, society and identity, and technology and futures. Spacon & X designed the space using a modular system of wooden poles and metal joints that can be disassembled and rearranged for diverse programming. Reading nooks and window seats enable independent reading or social engagement. Through its own research, the studio found that ‘87 per cent engages for inspiration and new ideas, while 59 per cent want to be part of a like-minded community’. Its porous office space is a direct reflection of its initiative to further foster and grow it.

Mason Studio’s Toronto office has also been transformed for a similar purpose. The multi-disciplinary practice launched a hybrid studio: besides its core work functions, it hosts a shared library with a give-one-take-one book scheme, coffee bar, and exhibition space or events venue open to other designers, artists, architects and the general public. It has been designed to facilitate organic exchange, eliminating the traditional desk-and-chair model and offering more casual in-situ spaces. During DesignTO 2023, the studio was activated with different installations and exhibitions, including a storytelling event for children.

Photos: Seth Nicolas.

Cover and above: Along with the help from Spacon & X, Studio10 transformed the ground floor of its Copenhagen office with a public library, café and space for events and other programming.

The office as a means of supporting the local (creative) community

The support of various communities and the exchange of ideas and knowledge go hand-in-hand with one another. Offices like those of Space10, Mason Studio and Amsterdam-based Studioninedots provide incubation space for local creatives and other cultural initiatives. This transparency overcomes the insularity of the corporate world, unbolting its doors and actively supporting communities.

Studioninedots’s Karper K hosts eight other companies, all of which are connected to one another through a shared area, which accommodates cultural events like exhibitions, material tests and evening events. Not only are each of the tenant companies encouraged to interact with one another through physical presence in the shared space, the hub also supports programming which invites external community members in. Rotating art installations, like its current interactive lighting installation developed in collaboration with Synthetic State, give local artists and designers a platform for exposure and creativity.

Photos: Sebastian van Damme.

Studioninedots’ Amsterdam office, Karper K, hosts the design studio along with eight other creative companies. A shared area encourages the mixing of creatives within the workplace but also the surrounding community through publicly accessible activations.

Having partnered with X In Residence, a residency programme for artists and curators from Toronto, Mason Studio is also spatially supporting local arts. Additionally, public talks, lectures and tours of the space for students and aspiring designers support the fostering of young professionals. During DesignTO 2023, other neighbourhood-based initiatives were taken such as a temporary pay-what-you-want cafe, with donations going to local non-profit organizations and a shoppable experience displaying goods created by local vendors. Similarly, Space10’s office has a kiosk which offers a selection of curated design objects, alongside drinks and snacks from local companies.

The office as a point of leisure

In addition to a gallery and stage area, hosting engaging talks, panel discussions and film screenings, Space10’s Copenhagen space simply provides a space for leisure. The café-library invites one to enjoy a coffee or fulfil their intellectual curiosity. Mason Studio offers space to local food and beverage companies, where people can come to enjoy a meal or socialize with friends.

These activations provide additional revenue streams for companies who benefit from offices in prime locations, but can also serve their design practices, allowing their employees to sit alongside neighbours to exchange ideas and find inspiration.