Introduction
Buildner is excited to present the winning and shortlisted entries submitted to the Office Design Challenge!
This is the second in an annual competition series in which participants are tasked with exploring the work environment. The jury sought design projects that use architecture as a tool to improve a worker’s wellbeing as well as their productivity. This challenge presented an opportunity to envision the new normal of the workplace post-COVID.
To evaluate the submissions, Buildner worked with an international jury panel including: Julia Murphy is Managing Partner and USA + Canada East Practice Leader at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill - SOM; Farid Esmaeil studied architecture at the American University of Sharjah School of Design and He co-founded X Architects in 2003 in Dubai; Katrina Yin, AIA, is an architect and design manager at JDS Development Group - formally trained as an architect, she worked at boutique design firms before becoming a licensed real estate salesperson and development associate; Harsha Kotak is the Founder of Women in Office Design and an international interior designer and workplace consultant; Dr Juriaan van Meel is Co-founder of BriefBuilder and an expert in the field of architectural briefing and workplace design; and Kourosh Salehi is MENA Design Director at LWK + PARTNERS, and a British architect, urbanist and educator with over 25 years of international experience in the UK, Asia and the Middle East.
Buildner and its jury members thank each of the participants for contributing to this library of design ideas, and for instigating new questions related to the future of workplace design.
1st Prize Winner
Blackheath Creative Hub
Competitions are a unique platform in which you can test ideas and skills that you may not be able to test otherwise, all with a deadline, so you can reward yourself with a glass of wine at the end - just like in the real world!
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Australia
Jury feedback summary
Blackheath Creative Hub is a proposal that aims to create a workplace that is ‘tactile, slow, and calming.’ It is innovative in that it integrates community programs with workplace programs to yield a new type of space conducive to creativity. It is sited within an Australian climbing town, chosen as a community integrated with nature where post-covid workers have begun to shift as an ideal environment to ‘work from home.’ The building is designed to be in harmony with its surroundings, a linear structure constructed in rammed earth and open on all sides to its forested environment.
This project offers a poetic relationship of nature and the outdoors to the post-covid office landscape and takes a radical approach to humanism in the office environment.
Julia Murphy / Buildner guest jury
Managing Partner at SOM, USA
The idea of utilizing spaces that got left vacant after pandemic (combined with the fluid design that lets indoor space connect with the outdoor) serves the dual purpose of social elevation and mental well-being in the society. The hub design is a vision to bring the community together and increase interdependency of business which can be progressive. The simple design also evokes a sense of belonging and being one with nature.
Harsha Kotak / Buildner guest jury
Founder of Women in Office Design, UK
An appealing, serene work environment, a refuge in a very hectic world. Looks like a place where people can truly think and reflect.
Juriaan van Meel / Buildner guest jury
Co-founder of BriefBuilder, Netherlands
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe presentation is clear and insightful in terms of its materiality and ambitions to provide a space connected with nature. Buildner has three principle criticisms: the use of scale figures / human inhabitants within the spaces - plans, sections, renderings - would yield insight into the spatial experience and project dimensions; currently the spaces seem void and, as a result, potentially uninspired without activity. Second, annotation on the renderings could provide significant information as to materiality, concepts and space types. Third, the text would benefit from being drastically reduced, divided into key concepts, and arranged across all four sheets.
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10/10 Linework
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9/10 Quality of drawings
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10/10 Balance of color
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9/10 Layout
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10/10 Hierarchy
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8/10 Annotation
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7/10 Text
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9/10 Clarity of story
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10/10 Clarity of diagrams
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9/10 Quality of overall presentation
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2nd Prize Winner +
Buildner Student Award
Buildner Student Award
The CUBE
Architecture competitions give us an opportunity to work outside our comfort zones, to explore new societal ways of life, and to understand the complexities of designing that surround them. It is one of the few mediums that allow architects to go wild with their imagination, designing their unique vision of how they see the world.
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Jury feedback summary
Inside the Cube investigates the history, evolution and utility of the office cubicle. Designed as a square with a dimension of 2.5 meters, the typical cubicle was meant to hold a single user and isolate them from the common space of the office, providing privacy and some level of quiet. The cubicle also has a tendency to hinder collaboration through its inherent intent to create physical barriers among colleagues, and has thus been largely abandoned in contemporary workplace design. This project dissects the cubicle to understand if the design element might be reworked to provide its intended privacy while also supporting social connectivity and general wellbeing.
A bold proposal that examines the minimal and investigates the potential and possibilities of confined spaces. The challenge of working within small places with groups of people are well demonstrated. Interesting graphics thought a little simplistic at times.
Kourosh Salehi / Buildner guest jury
MENA Design Director, LWK + PARTNERS, UAE
An attempt to re-invent the classic cubicle. A nice mix of clever design and humor.
Juriaan van Meel / Buildner guest jury
Co-founder of BriefBuilder, Netherlands
Thought-provoking research into the current status quo of open-office seating. Vivid and eye-catching graphic style was applied throughout. The concept is quite focused on sightlines and privacy, would have been a stronger contender if more thought was given to sound attenuation as well.
Katrina Yin / Buildner guest jury
architect and design manager at JDS Development Group, USA
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe project offers complex drawings as a treat for the juror. Sophisticated diagrams and linework provide for a uniquely presented submission with a lot of information to dissect. The layout is, however, rather sporadic and inconsistent. Certain drawings such as the final section lack adequate annotation. Most importantly, as a technical analysis the reviewer is left searching for meaningful results. The strongest recommendation we can provide for such a submission is that it should provide a clear textual statement on each sheet or diagram to concretize the solution of this proposal and directly state for the juror what is being communicated. How has the cubicle been reworked? What does this do for the typical office space? How can this idea evolve to support the future of office design?
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10/10 Linework
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9/10 Quality of drawings
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8/10 Balance of color
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9/10 Layout
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9/10 Hierarchy
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8/10 Annotation
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7/10 Text
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7/10 Clarity of story
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8/10 Clarity of diagrams
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8/10 Quality of overall presentation
3rd Prize Winner
Gradient Working - Constructing Matrix for Modernist Office Building
Architecture competitions play a vital role in expanding our horizons beyond daily work settings. They create a space for creativity and exploration, allowing us to integrate innovation, sustainability, and humanity into our designs. Focusing heavily on crucial societal issues, such as the built environment and environmental disasters, they provide an opportunity to explore ideas that promote environmental responsibility, energy efficiency, and sustainable design practices. This enables us to contribute to shaping a more sustainable and socially conscious built environment.
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United States
Jury feedback summary
Gradient Working studies the problems and potentials of open plan floor plates that are a staple of modernist buildings the world over. The project uses the famed Seagram Building in NYC as a case study. Working with the strict orthogonal grid of the existing building, the proposal inserts new elements into the floor plate at a 45 degree angle to yield a series of ‘playful’ spaces that promote the health and well-being of the building's users.
This project showcases a visionary concept that challenges the limitations of traditional office layouts. By reimagining and reinventing the existing typology, the design goes beyond the confines of open plan arrangements and embraces a new and creative layout. It demonstrates a deep understanding of today's office requirements and prioritizes human well-being in its design approach.
Farid Esmaeil / Buildner guest jury
co-founded X Architects, UEA
Rethinking a modernist heritage building to make it work for today's working model without disturbing the existing framework is a very forward thinking concept that drives multiple agendas by considering the evolving needs of the modern workplace.
Harsha Kotak / Buildner guest jury
Founder of Women in Office Design, UK
A wonderful re-imagining of a landmark project. The clever selection of this prompt hones in on a larger, tangible design problem that will be key to reinventing our existing office stock into better workplaces. I only wish it had a more fully fleshed out materiality that wasn't focused on plywood - soft textures do help sound attenuation and add color and personality into offices.
Katrina Yin / Buildner guest jury
architect and design manager at JDS Development Group, USA
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe presentation makes use of a layout that is simple and clear. The main advice Buildner can offer is to expand on the main design idea of the project - the inserted new elements - rather than using extensive space on the sheets to describe the existing building. The author makes little attempt at explaining the function and construction of these 45-degree rotated inserts. Are they prefabricated? What materials are they constructed from? How are they brought into the building? Further text and annotation focused on these elements would greatly help the diagrams and renderings - which are quite well done but lack sufficient information to communicate the architecture of the proposition.
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7/10 Linework
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7/10 Quality of drawings
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7/10 Balance of color
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8/10 Layout
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8/10 Hierarchy
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7/10 Annotation
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7/10 Text
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7/10 Clarity of story
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7/10 Clarity of diagrams
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7/10 Quality of overall presentation
Buildner Sustainability Award
OFF HOME
We love space for thoughts and the means to live comfortably.
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Jury feedback summary
Off Home is a proposal for a scalable grid-form building featuring a library-like floor of semi private work spaces stacked above an open ground floor intended for collaboration and exchange. The project is located in a popular neighborhood in Berlin and is used as a green ribbon to connect two existing parks.
Taking the 15 minute city concept prevailing from pre-modernisation to mitigate social and climate emergencies is a clever but unrealistic process in developed cities. However the same concept might be possible to apply where new townships are being developed.
Harsha Kotak / Buildner guest jury
Founder of Women in Office Design, UK
This project shows great sensitivity both to the need to effectively reuse buildings and to better manage water resources in a time of climate crisis.
Julia Murphy / Buildner guest jury
Managing Partner at SOM, USA
Of all the entries, this one has the most comprehensive view on sustainability.
Juriaan van Meel / Buildner guest jury
Co-founder of BriefBuilder, Netherlands
Buildner's commentary, recommendations and techniques review
Order your review hereThe project is animated and visually interesting, but also dense and difficult to parse through. The presentation is heavy on analysis with few clear statements to offer definitive design solutions. The first page should make absolutely clear to a juror on immediate review: what is the problem at hand, and how it has been solved. The juror instead must read through extensive text to attempt to understand the project. The diagrams are beautiful and clear. The final page, however, appears incomplete and does not provide adequate information to convey the design intent.
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8/10 Linework
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8/10 Quality of drawings
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9/10 Balance of color
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7/10 Layout
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6/10 Hierarchy
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8/10 Annotation
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7/10 Text
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6/10 Clarity of story
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6/10 Clarity of diagrams
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7/10 Quality of overall presentation
Honorable Mentions
Shortlisted projects
LA Under Pressure
United States Edu
THE REDUX
Blackheath Creative Hub
chowa
Balance Office
Scale Up
The CUBE
EVOLVE/ADAPT
PUESTO KM99
785 MILL
villas in the park
“IDENTITY” - new spaces in existing places
Gradient Working - Constructing Matrix for Modernist Office Building
OFF HOME
OFFICE'TATION
OFFISEA
ARCH
Ocean Coworking
Office for a Fashion Company, Kharkiv
TODAY'S OFFICE PLATFORM [ WEOF ]
Rumah Ibu
Bubbling Office
Office for University Clusters
IN THE WAVE
SCALE - UP
Kraszewskiego
NOMADHUB: Research on commercialization products and office space design based on digital nomad experience and needs
EchoHub
Aquaponics Office
GroWork
parasitic office
