Sedus WHAT'S UP Blog

Spacious modern interior with high ceiling, large windows, hanging plants, and symmetrical seating including green sofas, armchairs, and tables arranged along a central wooden structure

News 06/03/2026

The Rise of Hybrid Hospitality – An interview with MAWD | March and White Design

With changing travel and work behaviour, the hospitality factor has to change as well. When thinking about that shift, one buzzword comes to everyone’s mind: hybrid hospitality. It is a growing trend, and for good reason. Hybrid hospitality allows accommodations like hotels to expand their offerings, bring underutilised spaces to life, connect guests to a local community, and attract a whole new demographic. But not only do hotels have to change the way they welcome different communities – coworking spaces and offices have to rethink their spaces as well.

Wellbeing 04/03/2026

More Atmosphere, Less Space – How Dr. Stefan Rief Envisions the Future of Work

What will the workplace of tomorrow look like – and what kind of space will it require? This question concerns not only us at Sedus, but also Stefan Rief, Head of the Research Unit for Organizational Development and Work Design at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO in Stuttgart. As one of the leading experts in organisational and workplace design, he has spent many years researching at the intersection of people, technology, and space. We spoke with him about how work is evolving – and what places like the Work Café will need to offer in the future.

Sustainability 02/03/2026

Pure Materials, Designed for Recycling, Built to Last

Sculptural yet soft in its expression, se:cove combines gentle, flowing lines with a distinctive spatial presence. The lounge chair is both an eye-catcher and a place of retreat. While the rear view conveys dynamism and structure, the open, inviting front creates a sense of shelter — like a small cove within the space, offering protection while encouraging interaction.

Whether used for focused work, creative breaks or extended conversations, se:cove creates moments of concentration and exchange. Yet behind its expressive form lies more than comfort and aesthetics. The chair embodies a product philosophy where responsible material selection, intelligent construction and sustainable processes are embedded from the outset.

At Sedus, sustainability is not an add-on — it is integral to the concept.

Two people working separately in adjacent hexagonal booth desks with laptops and office supplies

Wellbeing 27/02/2026

Peripersonal space (PPS): The neuro-logic behind good workplace design

Why do we feel immediately focused in some workplaces and constantly distracted in others? Why does an open-plan office sometimes exhaust us more than the actual task at hand? The answer lies not only in noise levels or interruptions. It runs deeper: into the way the brain processes space, stimuli, and safety.

Open office space with se:hive room solution featuring a curved high-backed booth with table and stools, surrounded by various seating areas and circular ceiling lights

Workplace Design 25/02/2026

Cognitive zoning made easy: se:hive as a flexible tool for planners

In hybrid working environments, digital and physical forms of work merge into a dynamic whole – with constantly changing requirements for spaces, users and tasks. "Focused work as a scarce resource" has become a central issue: according to Sedus INSIGHTS N° 20, modern working environments must not only promote interaction and exchange, but above all enable targeted concentration. Open-plan spaces need differentiated zones that help employees choose the right place for their respective tasks. This means less rigid departments and more sensory and functionally coordinated zoning of the space.

Wellbeing 20/02/2026

Planning for Neurodiversity: Offices for Diverse Sensory Profiles

For decades, workplaces were designed around the idea of an “average” user. In the age of hybrid work, it has become increasingly clear: such an average does not exist. People differ not only in their tasks and working styles, but also in how they perceive, process, and regulate stimuli. This is precisely where the concept of neurodiversity comes into play — and why it has become a central planning consideration for modern offices.

Sedus INSIGHTS N° 20 demonstrates why concentration, well-being, and performance are closely linked to sensory perception — and why work environments must increasingly respond to diverse sensory sensitivities.

Collage of five photos showing various hospitality spaces including a social hub entrance, a lounge with yellow chairs and a staircase, a seating area with a green tiled wall and 'LOST SOCKS' sign, a bar with a bartender, and a rooftop pool with 'ROME AROUND THE WORLD' text on the pool floor.

News 20/02/2026

Hybrid hospitality: What offices can learn from hotels and third places

In a working world increasingly characterised by mobility, flexibility and hybrid working models, office spaces face a major challenge: they must be places where people not only work, but also enjoy spending time – places that facilitate focus, exchange, inspiration and community. This is precisely where a concept that originated in the hotel industry but has long since crossed the boundaries into new work comes in: hybrid hospitality.

News 17/02/2026

se:cove – The Art of finding Retreat

With se:cove, Sedus expands its portfolio with a sculptural lounge chair that combines retreat, comfort and sustainable construction. We spoke with industrial designer Konstantin Thomas about the development process, the design ambition and the structural principles behind the product.

Wellbeing 12/02/2026

Energy Management Instead of Time Management

Why focus depends on energy levels – and how spaces enable micro-breaks and movement.

For decades, productivity was primarily organised around time: working hours, meetings scheduled, utilisation rates. Yet in today’s hybrid working reality, it is becoming increasingly clear that time alone is no longer a reliable metric. What truly matters is not how long we work, but with how much energy we bring to those hours.

Sedus INSIGHTS Nº 20 highlights why concentration is not a matter of discipline or scheduling, but closely linked to individual energy levels – and what role work environments play in supporting them.

Workplace Design 11/02/2026

Balancing Concentration and Collaboration

Tetra Pak in Tokyo and Warsaw is an inspiring case in point: a project by tp bennett that illustrates how to strike the right balance between highly stimulating spaces for collaboration and networking and low-stimulation environments for quiet, focused work – while adapting to different cultural contexts.

Wellbeing 09/02/2026

The Concentration Cycle: How Spaces Enable “Flow”

What the natural alternation between focus and recovery means for spatial planning. Concentration is often understood as something we either have - or don’t have. In reality, everyday working life increasingly shows that focus is a dynamic process, rather than a permanent state. It emerges, reaches a peak, gradually declines - and requires recovery in order to arise again.

This cycle of concentration is becoming especially relevant in hybrid working environments. As attention turns into a scarce resource, the physical environment plays a decisive role in determining whether focused work is supported - or disrupted.

Open-plan office with large windows, featuring textile privacy pods in green and blue, and seating areas with modern chairs and small tables on a rug.

Workplace Design 09/02/2026

How textile retreats become a productivity lever

Open working environments stand for exchange, transparency and dynamism. At the same time, studies and everyday experience show that noise, visual stimuli and a lack of places for retreat are among the biggest productivity killers in the office. The solution lies not in choosing between openness and isolation, but in intelligent intermediate zones. Textile retreats such as se:hive demonstrate how acoustics and privacy can be used as levers to enhance wellbeing and focus.

Two modular se:hive seating units in an open office space, one beige with two people seated inside and one blue with a single person seated, both designed as semi-enclosed retreats.

Workplace Design 06/02/2026

How se:hive enables retreat and focus in open spaces

For years, open working environments have been synonymous with exchange, transparency and collaboration. They promote interaction, accelerate communication and strengthen corporate culture. At the same time, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that openness alone is not enough. Concentrated work – the basis for quality, clarity and productivity – requires protection, quiet and control over the immediate environment.

News 03/02/2026

Open Front, Strong Back: The Dual Design of se:cove in Planning Practice

In open-plan work environments, it is not only what is placed in a space that matters, but how it is perceived from different perspectives. Furniture becomes a spatial element: it structures areas, guides movement, shapes sightlines and subtly influences behaviour. This is exactly where the dual design of se:cove comes into play.
The lounge chair has two clearly defined “faces”: an open, inviting front and a strong, structured back. This contrast is not incidental, but a deliberate design decision – and a valuable tool for spatial planning.

News 30/01/2026

Quietly Sculptural: How se:cove Shapes Space

Open spaces need character - but not noise. In today’s modern work environments, work cafés, and hybrid zones, the goal is no longer simply to fill square metres, but to create atmosphere. With se:cove, Sedus enters a new era of soft seating: a lounge chair that makes a sculptural statement while offering exactly what open-plan spaces demand today - calm, retreat, and presence.

Sustainability 30/01/2026

Recyclates: key materials for a functioning circular economy

Recyclates: How waste is turned into valuable secondary raw materials and transforming industry in a sustainable way. Find out how Sedus is reducing the ecological footprint of its products by using PET felt made from recycled PET bottles.

Wellbeing 27/01/2026

Why Focus Is Becoming the New Guiding Principle in the Hybrid Office

For a long time, the office was primarily seen as a place of encounter: open, communicative, and creative. Collaboration was the guiding principle of office design – with open-plan layouts, community tables and informal meeting zones. Yet the reality of hybrid work is making one thing increasingly clear: collaboration alone is not enough. People come to the office not only to exchange ideas, but above all to find the right conditions for focused, concentrated work.

Modern office space with a glass-walled meeting room containing an orange swivel chair and round ottoman, adjacent to a lounge area with a green sofa, small round stool, and wooden slat wall with plants and coat rack.

Workplace Design 23/01/2026

A touch more wellbeing: how the new display takes se:cube to the next level

Touch displays are now an integral part of our everyday lives – we swipe, tap and navigate intuitively through digital interfaces. It was precisely this user behaviour that prompted the development of the new touch display for se:cube and se:cube max. In this interview, Sedus product manager Nike Alberts provides insights into the development process, the idea behind them and the added value for modern working environments.

A magazine titled 'LOOKBOOK work.life.style' with a black-and-white photo on the cover and an open spread showing a portrait on the left page and an article titled 'Material Matters' on the right page.

Sustainability 21/01/2026

Material Matters – An interview with Prof. Dr. Sascha Peters

Whether wood, metal, plastic or textiles – materials not only shape the aesthetics, feel and functionality of furniture, they are also a decisive factor in its ecological footprint. In times of climate change and dwindling resources, designers, manufacturers and developers are faced with the challenge of rethinking materials: moving away from linear processes towards circular value chains. This raises the question of how alternative materials can contribute to more sustainable, resource-efficient and innovative designs.

Wellbeing 18/01/2026

What lies behind the AGR Quality Seal – and why, at Sedus, it is more than just a label

Many people are familiar with it: the AGR quality seal “Tested & Recommended”. It appears on ergonomic office chairs, height-adjustable desks and modern workplace solutions, offering guidance in a crowded market of ergonomic products.

But what does this seal actually stand for? Who is behind it? And why have several Sedus products – as well as complete concept solutions – been awarded this distinction?

We spoke to Detlef Detjen, Managing Director of Aktion Gesunder Rücken e. V. (AGR – Campaign for Healthy Backs). He explains what makes the AGR seal special, how the assessment process works, and why holistic ergonomics is becoming increasingly important in the modern world of work.