Frame 01-02

WE SPACE

Multipurpose designs from ANDREU WORLD

reflect the rise of the social office.

Words

JANE SZITA

Offices aren’t what they used to be. The old

world of fixed seating and corner offices has

been swept away by a wave of flexible open-

plan environments. Meanwhile, develop-

ments in technology are allowing more and

more of us to work at home, at least for part

of the time.

The rise in home working is rapidly

transforming the function of the workplace.

Today’s office isn’t necessarily where we go

to spend eight hours staring at a screen; it’s

more a space for interaction and the sharing

Thanks to its multiple personality,

the updated Flex armchair is equally

at home in a hotel or an office.

of ideas and information. In fact, with innova-

tion the name of the game in the contem-

porary business world, exchanges between

employees – often people who may not

have met in a traditional office – are increas-

ingly seen as the key to the most radical and

rewarding ideas.

Whereas offices of the past were likely

to discourage such socializing in favour of

productivity, modern companies are likely to

encourage employee interactions. And while

interdepartmental encounters were once con-

162