ConsenSys Offices in London by Neiheiser Argyros

Photo by Luke Hayes.

Photo by Simone Bossi.

Neiheiser Argyros have fit out the five-storey London office of fast-growing blockchain software start-up ConsenSys. Acknowledging and celebrating the fact that different people work in different ways on a day-to-day basis – from a cafe, park, or distraction-free cubicle – drove the designers to provide radically different working atmospheres and options throughout. Challenging conventional assumptions about the value of openness and flexibility in workplace design, the project encompasses a variety of distinct spaces that support different modes of work.

A plywood ‘object’ is set at the centre of each floor, loosely dividing the space into distinct work environments that each have a unique material palette and associated atmosphere. Within the central object, meeting rooms and phone booths of varied sizes provide a neutral space of transition and gathering on each floor. Surrounding the central object, distinct work environments allude to a metaphorical location with accompanying ground rules as to the kind of work to be carried out.

Photo by Simone Bossi.

Photo by Luke Hayes.

With light grey flooring, white furniture, and sanitized fluorescent light, The Laboratory is an open yet distraction-free space for focused work. Cork flooring and dark timber furniture in The Library evoke a medieval study for solo thinking. In the Living Room, bright orange carpet and soft furnishings encourage informal working and casual conversation. The Dining Room features checkered black and white Georgian flooring and a large communal table to invoke open dialogue and collaboration.

Windows in each plywood object align to create views across every floor, creating permeability that connect various work environments. This allows each distinct space to remain connected, with Neiheiser Argyros piecing together a collage of different material and experiential environments. The geometry of the central object on each floor ties everything loosely together.

See more Workplace Projects on Yellowtrace here.