Office 2021 Design
Challenge

Bee Breeders Competition Organisers is excited to present the winning and shortlisted entries submitted to the Office 2021 Design Challenge, hosted 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 ‘new normals’ of working life have been transformed in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and equally so by ever-changing modes of communication and connectivity, included but by no means limited to cloud-based software, video conferencing, email, and social media. 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?

The Office 2021 Design Challenge was run in tandem with the Office 2021 Essay Challenge, in which participants were tasked with exploring similar ideas in text-based arguments, thoughts, or studies.

To evaluate the design challenge, Bee Breeders worked with 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 co-author of multiple books, including Activity-Based Working Practice Guide (2020), and Workplaces Today (2015); and Simeon Siegel, partner at Turett Collaborative Architects, where he has managed workplace projects.

Bee Breeders 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.