WHAT'S UP Blog

Why do we immediately feel calm, present and focused in some places – and constantly ‘on the lookout’ in others? The answer lies not only in the acoustics or the number of people in the room. It begins much closer to home: in our immediate surroundings, the so-called peripersonal space (PPS). Neuroscientific findings show that this area around our body is crucial to whether we feel safe, focused and capable of acting.

Open-plan workspaces thrive on interaction, dynamism and encounters. At the same time, there is a growing need for places where people can take a quick breather, work with concentration or hold confidential conversations. This is precisely where so-called safe spaces come into play: areas that offer protection without shutting people off, and allow for retreat without creating isolation.

Workplaces are becoming more homely, more emotive and more individual. At the same time, expectations of interior and corporate design are rising: spaces should convey brand identity, provide guidance and adapt flexibly to different usage scenarios. This is precisely where the se:cove lounge chair from Sedus comes in – with a well-thought-out mix-and-match principle that doesn’t leave design to chance, but makes it possible to plan.

Colours define spaces – and they influence how we feel within them. This is why office colour schemes are playing an increasingly important role, particularly in modern working environments.

Open spaces encourage interaction and collaboration — but they often make concentrated work more difficult. Conversations, movement, video calls and the lack of retreat spaces continuously interrupt attention throughout the day.

Today’s workplace design is shifting away from pure efficiency towards a more human-centred approach. Alongside collaboration and flexibility, mental ease, emotional balance and sensory wellbeing are becoming defining factors in office planning.

Hybrid work environments require new answers to one essential need: concentration. Instead of clearly separated rooms, workplaces today are evolving into finely layered environments where focus and interaction can coexist. Micro focus spaces such as se:cove demonstrate how retreat without isolation can be integrated directly into open-plan settings — creating a new balance between concentrated work and togetherness.

For years, the conversation around the workplace was shaped by a single paradigm: Openness, Collaboration and Interaction.

Today, that perspective is shifting. In a world saturated with stimuli, the office is increasingly becoming what is often missing elsewhere: a place for concentration.

This shift raises a new design question:
How much shielding does focus require—and at what point does it become counterproductive?

The se:lab product family is designed for modern work environments and shows how flexible office furniture can transform everyday office life. With solutions such as the se:lab sofa and the se:lab meet desk, versatile, easily movable furnishing elements are created that support modular office concepts. These multifunctional pieces support agile working, spontaneous meetings, and creative collaboration. At the same time, they can be individually adapted and combine flexibility with thoughtful design and sustainable production.

Open coworking spaces often face an apparent contradiction: they are meant to foster exchange, dynamism and creative energy – whilst at the same time enabling focused work. The Start it @KBC project in Antwerp shows exactly how this balance can be achieved.

How corridors, alcoves and soft zones facilitate cognitive switching.
Between focused individual work and lively interaction lies an area that is often underestimated in office planning: the interstitial space. It is precisely these transitional zones that are crucial for productive work in hybrid working environments. Corridors, alcoves and peripheral areas thus become more than mere circulation spaces – they support focus, interaction and natural movement in equal measure.

Working in green surroundings: The ‘biophilic design’ principle uses plants to create a pleasant office environment that protects against noise and poor air quality and helps improve concentration.

Open-plan workplaces promote transparency, interaction, and dynamic exchange. Yet the more open they become, the clearer the need for retreat emerges - not as an opposite, but as a necessary complement.

Sustained focus cannot thrive amid constant noise. With digital stimuli and conversations competing for attention, every interruption carries a cognitive cost, making deep concentration harder to regain - especially in open environments.

The question, then, is no longer whether retreat is needed, but how it can be designed without compromising openness.

It often begins inconspicuously: with a cup of coffee, a brief exchange, a spontaneous thought. Yet it is precisely in these moments that the potential of a space becomes clear - one that offers far more than a mere pause. The work café is no longer a peripheral feature; it is evolving into a central component of contemporary work environments. A place where interaction and concentration are not in opposition, but actively reinforce one another.

Modern workplaces operate in a constant tension between concentration, collaboration and regeneration. While open layouts encourage interaction, they often make it difficult to retreat when focus is needed. What is required are systems that create zones without building barriers – flexible, scalable and driven by use. 

se:hive addresses this challenge with a modular room-in-room concept that brings balance to open environments. Freely positioned, acoustically effective, and highly configurable, it enables a range of work modes to coexist within a cohesive design language.

Long conversations need space. Not only in a metaphorical sense, but quite literally within the physical environment. While traditional meeting rooms are often designed for efficiency and structure, the most valuable dialogues tend to emerge in settings where atmosphere, comfort, and a sense of retreat come together.

This is precisely where soft seating comes into play - introducing a new quality of interaction in the workplace.

The office is currently undergoing a fundamental transformation. For a long time, openness was considered the guiding principle of modern workplaces: communication, interaction and transparency defined spatial design. Yet with the growing density of digital stimuli and the rise of hybrid working, a different priority is coming into focus – the ability to concentrate.

In an environment shaped by constant connectivity, the office is becoming one of the few places where focused work can be deliberately supported. However, this challenge can no longer be addressed with standardised layouts. Instead, it requires a more nuanced and differentiated approach to space.

As part of a comprehensive cultural and organisational transformation, Ford Otosan commissioned the design of its new headquarters in Izmit, Turkey, as a forward-looking working environment. The aim was to meet the requirements of hybrid working models while creating spaces that optimally support both collaboration and individual concentration.

Collaboration in the office has undergone a fundamental transformation in recent years. Rigid workplace structures are increasingly giving way to flexible concepts that promote communication, creativity and productivity. At the heart of this development are collaborative spaces, which are specifically designed to foster teamwork and facilitate interaction between employees.

What does an office that truly meets the requirements of hybrid working look like? The new headquarters of Gruppo CAP in Milan provides a convincing answer across an area of 3,020 m². The project, by Alterstudio Partners, shows how working environments are evolving from classic offices with fixed desks to flexible, user-centred ecosystems.