Winners of the Office 2021 Design Challenge respond to the 'new normals' of post-pandemic work life

The Office 2021 Design Challenge has released the winning and shortlisted entries

Hosted by Bee Breeders in partnership with Archhive Books, this was the first edition of an annual competition series, in which participants are tasked with exploring workplace design. The brief responds to the “new normals” of working life brought by the pandemic and ever-changing mode of communication and connectivity, including cloud-based software, video conferencing, email, and social media. 

As stated by the competition organizers: “The fixed office space and the need for physical proximity to colleagues or clients have been put in question and, in certain industries, altogether eradicated. How does architecture respond to such tests to the physical environment? How can design be used as a tool to improve a worker’s wellbeing and productivity?”

Participants respondeded to these questions and were evaluated by a jury panel including David Kubik, a partner at NYC-based BKSK Architecture; Dr. Juriaan van Meel, co-founder of BriefBuilder, an expert in the field of architectural briefing and workplace design, and author; and Simon Siegel, partner at Turett Collaborative Architects.

First prize was awarded to Gül Koc-Janssen, Kerem Bostan, Surabhi Nigam, and Leticia Brown of Munich-based Gül Koc Gmbh interior design construction services for “9²”. 

Project description: "9² is a community-led coworking space situated along the former Munich S-Bahn, originally- constructed for the 1972 Olympics. Members of this proposed community receive access to the coworking space, while a partnered farmers market along a pedestrian bridge above serves as a revenue source for vendors."

Jury commentary: "The concept is sleek, attractive, and contemporary. It is quite likely to actually attract office workers back to the office. This proposal positively repurposes an Olympic village transit station for co-working and building community and, like the Olympics, seeks to bring people together by encouraging community engagement. This demonstrates how we can reimagine traditional notions of places to design something more dynamic and less rigidly defined."

The second prize and BB Green Award went to UK-based Gareth Cotter and Maria Mera Vera for “Moss Trees”.

Project description: "Moss Tree aims to develop a form of architecture that contributes positively to the city and its inhabitants via flexible modular design that can be adapted to various brownfield sites. Hexagonal tree-shaped forms act as ‘green offices’, using moss to filter the urban air and creating small forests for social interaction."

Jury commentary: "This proposal effectively takes the idea of an open green space that is typically provided as a public park or gathering place, and transforms it into a co-working environment on brownfield sites.  With this proposal, the concept of public green parks can become the environment for reimagined work communities."

The entry “Trampo: hybrid offices in the favelas” by a Brazil-based team comprised of Julia Stopasolla Copat, Rafael Magno de Moraes, João Carlos Bernardino Júnior, and Débora Mendes Nunes Jank won the third prize.

Project description: "Moss Tree aims to develop a form of architecture that contributes positively to the city and its inhabitants via flexible modular design that can be adapted to various brownfield sites. Hexagonal tree-shaped forms act as ‘green offices’, using moss to filter the urban air and creating small forests for social interaction."

Jury commentary: "This proposal effectively takes the idea of an open green space that is typically provided as a public park or gathering place, and transforms it into a co-working environment on brownfield sites.  With this proposal, the concept of public green parks can become the environment for reimagined work communities."

The BB Student Award is held by Ayse Eda Tarakci out of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) for “Home Office”. 

More information on the winning projects, along with the competition’s honorable mentions and shortlisted entries, can be accessed here.