From Cubicle Farms To Culture Hubs, Office Spaces Transformed Into Vibrant Work Sanctuaries

Empty office spaces — often multiple floors — are being transformed to attract businesses that view décor as a culture-building tactic.

From corporate to coworking, seas of desks are being replaced with living room-style spaces, more amenities like showers and workout rooms, plants, art and bookshelves to make the spaces more appealing to employees.

"People don't want to be in the office all the time, and we live in a world of hybrid work," said Laetitia Gorra, founder of ROARKE Design Studio. "You have to think about what makes people want to be there instead of at home."

The Magic Spoon cereal company, for example, wanted an Instagrammable design to lure workers back to the office. ROARKE worked with the company to determine what is important to the company's culture. Magic Spoon wanted to get people away from their desks to eat lunch and interact with co-workers, so ROARKE designed the space with more lunch zones and dining room areas.

"They wanted it to feel very experiential and inspiring — like you were walking into one of their cereal boxes," Gorra said. "It allows employees to feel like they're walking into the Magic Spoon world."

Roarke took a different approach for creative communications agency M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment North America. The company wanted an inviting zen feel to its office space, so it worked with ROARKE to select a color palette with beiges, browns and greens.

Designed during the height of the pandemic when it was unclear when or how frequently people would return to the office, the space has custom coworking tables that are six feet apart and living room nooks separated by plant walls so employees can have personal space in an open office environment.

"We had a traditional corporate office setting with other companies," said Steph Lund, the company's CEO. "We wanted a space that complemented our work and our own agency aesthetic. We brought in ROARKE to help bring our vision to life that felt between a home and an office."

Roarke designed a small kitchenette for the company without using what Gorra termed as hard construction.

"Because there's still something unknown about hybrid work, we try not to spend a ton of money on hard construction costs unless it's absolutely necessary," Gorra said. "As people are figuring all this out, we're making it malleable."

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