Early Adaptors: SelgasCanoLong before the pandemic hit, SelgasCano, the Spanish architecture studio led by Jose Selgas and Lucia Cano, made waves with designs that pushed the proverbial envelope. Their own studio, nestled in the woods of Madrid, created quite some waves and was featured in magazines, architecture blogs, and sites worldwide. The - very photogenic - design allowed SelgasCano personnel to work under the trees, literally. In a more recent design, the Spanish studio went to Hollywood, where they created the first US location of the British co-working company Second Home. A former parking lot was turned into a co-working complex with oval-shaped pods, their bright yellow rooftops standing out against the green backdrop, not unlike lily pads in a pond. The site’s design reflects Second Home’s values, says COO Jamie Apostolou: “Biophilic design has always been a part of the Second Home DNA. This concept supports creativity, productivity, and mental health, among many other positive attributes.”

Apostolou said the design brief was simple: “Bring our biophilic design and the architecture by SelgasCano together and scale it across a two-acre footprint. Second Home Hollywood offered us a unique opportunity to apply this design approach to a campus format.” On-site, about 60% of the space is hosted outdoors, surrounded by over 100 species of plants, which some 250 companies enjoy. Apostolou: “Our members represent a broad range of industries, and with that diversity, we see teams reimagine the space in various ways we didn’t envision. The possibilities are endless, from creating classrooms to grouping several studios to form private campuses.”&nbsp;<blockquote><h1>&nbsp;A former parking lot was turned into a co-working complex with oval-shaped pods, their bright yellow rooftops standing out against the green backdrop, not unlike lily pads in a pond.&nbsp;</h1></blockquote>

#OutdoorOfficeDay&nbsp;Psychologist and social entrepreneur Ioana Biris’s interest in the outdoors predates COVID-19. Biris connects nature, work, and well-being with her company, Nature Desks. She also initiated Outdoor Office Day, which inspires people to take their work outdoors. “The idea came to me about 6 or 7 years ago. I wanted to see how we could improve people’s working lives. Sitting in an office for 9 hours a day didn’t seem very healthy or productive. So I wanted to take people outside so they could experience the benefits of stepping away from their computer.”&nbsp;Working remotely or meeting outside is easier for some than others. And the office culture also plays an important part. Biris: “For some people, going outside and meeting on a bench in the sun feels like playing hooky. We must break that taboo and tell company owners and managers that listening to a podcast or taking a stroll for some much-needed thinking time is still work.”&nbsp;Studies have shown that when in nature, people’s stress levels go down, and their sense of well-being increases. Spending time outdoors and being surrounded by nature can improve health and well-being. When we’re outside, we tend to move around more. Outdoor air quality also tends to be better than indoor quality. Spending half an hour in nature is known to lower pulse and blood pressure, but it is also therapeutic: being in nature decreases levels of stress and depression. In short, we feel better after spending time outdoors.&nbsp;Hard data about the positive effect of nature on people’s productivity or creativity are sometimes debated, although Biris has seen firsthand what going outside does to people. “At the first Outdoor Office Day in Utrecht, we saw people coming together from different companies and walks of life. Men in suits pulled up a chair, took off their shoes, and relaxed in the sun while meeting with the janitor of another company. These people normally never meet one another and get exposed to new ideas and ways of thinking. Going outside creates this water cooler effect but on a larger scale. And so we urge companies to facilitate these kinds of meetings by turning parking spaces on their industrial plot into an outdoor meeting room and include some benches and plants.”&nbsp;Biris is passionate about ensuring outdoor offices aren’t just enjoyed by the happy few or people whose job allows for flexibility but also those working in urban environments or office parks: “I’m not a real estate person, and there’s not some big agency pushing for this change. So I’m doing this in my spare time. It’s a labor of love. But it’s important. With simple adjustments, we can make life a little better and more beautiful: we can’t just spend our days sitting in some office, stuck behind a computer. We can do better than that.”

Sweden Leads the Way&nbsp;One company that is helping to change the way we work is Nola. This Stockholm-based company is known for creating sustainable design furniture for urban environments and was another early adopter of the outdoor office movement. The company has created anything from park benches to modular outdoor furniture systems but also works closely with architects, designers, landscape architects, and city planners to make urban spaces more accessible. For instance, they worked with Charlotte Persson Troije, whose Ph.D. dissertation included a study on outdoor office work. Troije’s study gave “new insights into how outdoor office work may be done—what works well versus less well; how employees experience outdoor work – benefits and obstacles; and what conditions need to be met in order to make it happen.” The collaboration led to the development of the outdoor office Work Lounge Chair: a workstation with a swivel dry-foam seat, laptop-adjusted table, and transparent backrest to create some privacy.&nbsp;&nbsp;<blockquote><h1>Studies have shown that when in nature, people’s stress levels go down, and their sense of well-being increases. Spending time outdoors and being surrounded by nature can improve health and well-being.</h1></blockquote>

“We started designing outdoor offices in 2016,” says Henrik Edlund, Nola’s CEO, “We saw an increasing demand and willingness for people to work outdoors. Of course, there are a few challenges when working outdoors, think sunlight and strong wind, but overall, there are enormous benefits to both body and health. That’s something we identified early on. And the pandemic was an accelerator and validation of the need to work outdoors.”&nbsp;The Swedish environmental certification systems for buildings also helped the push for change and transforming cities. Edlund: “Every new build has to have as low a carbon footprint as possible, be well isolated to keep energy cost low, and include solar panels. But if you want to receive the highest certifications, your project also needs to include areas that benefit the health of the people working or living in the building. And that is boosting the transformation of our city: going green isn’t just someone’s idea or pet project; it is a formal requirement.” Watch and learn, people. Watch and learn.&nbsp;

<img class="image_resized" style="width:50%;" src="https://tioc-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Schermafbeelding_2023_11_06_om_16_54_30_9d3c8c9c16.png" alt="Schermafbeelding 2023-11-06 om 16.54.30.png" srcset="https://tioc-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/thumbnail_Schermafbeelding_2023_11_06_om_16_54_30_9d3c8c9c16.png 121w,https://tioc-cdn.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/small_Schermafbeelding_2023_11_06_om_16_54_30_9d3c8c9c16.png 388w," sizes="100vw">We're very proud to call NOOK one of our partners.&nbsp;NOOK is the official magazine of the Dutch and Belgian professional associations for interior architecture, BNI and AINB. The magazine offers in-depth content, inspiration, and opinions. NOOK is published quarterly in English.&nbsp;The above article was first published in NOOK, the Symbiosis issue (2023 / #2).&nbsp;<a href="https://bni.nl/nook/">Order a hard copy of the issue for €12.50, excluding shipping</a>.

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If nothing else, the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way we work. There have been significant changes depending on the nature of work, the technological infrastructure, and the company’s willingness to adapt. For starters, remote working has become more widespread, as has our reliance on technology. We’ve also become more aware of the work-life balance. Spending five days a week in an office suddenly seems archaic and unnecessary. Pair that with the fact that during all those lockdowns, many people rediscovered nature or took on walking as a hobby, and it’s hardly surprising that there is an increased interest in the outdoor office.

CREATIVITY AT WORK: OUTDOOR OFFICE

Rolf’s love for architecture runs deep. At 6 he already knew that he was going to be an architect. Following his training at the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University Delft, Rolf started his own architecture agency. He was also one of the founding members of the award-winning agency Zecc Architects. However, Rolf quickly discovered that while he loved architecture, and in particular the reconstruction and transformation of existing buildings, running an architecture agency was not for him: “Being in the same building with other people all day long just doesn’t bring out the best in me.” Desperate for more creative freedom, Rolf turned his attention from architecture to product design.&nbsp;

It all started with his grandfather’s old chest of drawers. Nobody in the family was particularly interested in this heirloom piece except for Rolf, who offered to take the cabinet on the condition that he could do with it as he liked. He decided to cut the piece in half thereby transforming a traditional piece of furniture into a contemporary work of art. Rolf the “furniture transformer” was born. Armed with a chainsaw, Rolf transformed a number of pieces: by cutting away certain parts and adding new ones, he gave outdated furniture a new lease of life.&nbsp;

<blockquote><h1>“I DON’T LIKE RULES. I LIKE AUTONOMY, WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY I MOVED TO FURNITURE.”</h1></blockquote>

Rolf: “I don’t like rules. I like autonomy, which is probably why I moved to furniture, although I took my love for architecture with me. As an architect you draw up plans and sections. Those sections are really nice but once the building is finished nobody ever sees them again, which is a shame really. So, I took that idea of sections and applied it to furniture design. By cutting away certain pieces the sections became permanently visible.”&nbsp;Rolf looks back on his endeavors with somewhat mixed feelings. They served a purpose but over time have started to feel like a bit of a trick: “At the risk of sounding jaded, but when I visit a design or art exhibition I see a lot of repetition. And I myself didn’t want to keep doing the same trick and reduce these concepts into some sort of gadget.”

“Truth is, when I take a chainsaw to a piece of furniture I’m kind of done with that after having done it a handful of times. Same with rolling up dollar bills to create a table: after a while I lose interest and I’m done. And times have also changed,” Rolf continues, “2022 is very different from 2015. Recycling has become much more accepted and mainstream. I played a small part in motivating and inspiring others by showing them the transformative power of recycling. But that was then and now it’s up to the industry and to all of us to really implement this on a large scale. In a way my role in that process is done, which is why I’m going back to my first love: architecture.”His biggest project to date is The House of Rolf. A former coach house that now serves as both Rolf’s home and studio. The house’s interior is made entirely out of material that comes from a demolished building next-door. Every single part has been repurposed from radiators to window frames. The end result is nothing short of spectacular: an old dilapidated building transformed into a modern design haven. Rolf: “This was a mammoth job. It took 2 years and it was horrible at times but Niek Hagemans and I pushed through and I’m really happy with the end result.”&nbsp;

Pushing through is somewhat of a theme in Rolf’s work. “I usually just jump in. I have an idea and start working on it immediately but there will always come a point where you’re sick of it. And something you loved working on transforms as well, and becomes something you absolutely hate doing. Fortunately, I know that I have a tendency to finish what I’ve started. It takes a lot of energy but I always see projects through and end up feeling happy about the end result.”In recent years, Rolf has turned his attention to Africa. He built a house in Senegal, a place he frequently visits. “After the tsunami a couple of friends and I went to Sri Lanka to help rebuild. It then became a thing we did every couple of years, going to places like Cambodia, Haiti and Senegal to help out.” Rolf found himself returning to Senegal because of the climate,its proximity to The Netherlands, and above all the people. Plus there aren’t too many rules and restrictions.“You can build something there without a permit. Of course that has enormous consequences for the look and feel of a city but as an architect it gives you enormous freedom. While at the same time, it also comes with less certainties: because there are no rules there’s nothing preventing my neighbors from building a 3-story high apartment block.For the house Rolf built he turned to local blacksmiths who all sell similar patio furniture, made of recycled reinforcing mesh. “All these tradespeople repurpose this mesh that was once used to reinforce concrete. And they take bits and pieces and weld them together to create this iconic chair. But they don’t do it because it’s hip or fashionable. It’s born out of necessity. That has been something of an eye opener. And as a result I have begun to see my own designs in a new light. It explains why my conceptual work has become of less interest to me.Rolf’s latest endeavor? An old farm house in a rural part of eastern Holland. “The original farm dates back to 1888 but over the years different elements and buildings have been added, right up to 1985. I want to transform that building in a way that honors that history and literally shows the layers that have been added over the years. In the end, I’m still fascinated with transformation. Because it is such a layered concept. It’s about turning nothing into something.”&nbsp;

<blockquote><h1>“IT'S ABOUT TURNING NOTHING INTO SOMETHING.”</h1></blockquote>

Disclaimer:A version of this article has been published in <a href="https://bni.nl/nook/">NOOK</a>, the trade publication for Interior Architects in The Netherlands and Belgium.&nbsp;And finally, for your viewing pleasure, a beautiful video on Rolf Bruggink's work by <a href="https://www.stijnpoelstra.com/">Stijn Spoelstra</a>.

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Transformation plays a crucial role in both the work and life of Rolf Bruggink. Trained as an architect, this Dutch native made a name for himself as a product designer with concepts that blur the lines between design and art.&nbsp;

Architecture

CREATIVITY AT WORK: OUTDOOR OFFICE

ROLF BRUGGINK: THE ART OF TRANSFORMATION

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