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      Ten offices with wooden bleachers that c​​ater for collaboration

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      An industrial London workspace and the home of software company Slack feature in our latest lookbook, which spotlights 10 office interiors animated by wooden bleacher-style seating.

      Traditionally found in sports stadiums, bleachers are an inexpensive form of stepped seating composed of rows of benches. They are accessed by built-in staircases or directly from the stepped seats themselves.
      In recent years, bleachers have also become a workplace staple for many modern companies as they offer flexible auditorium-style spaces for presentations, impromptu meetings and collaboration.
      While they are typically made from metal, many architects designing office bleachers are opting for a wooden finish instead.
      This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing homely office interiors, workspaces filled with plants and garden studios for remote working.

      The Forge, UK, by Emrys Architects
      Two banks of bleachers feature in this listed ironworks in London, which Emrys Architects transformed into a studio complex with co-working spaces and workshops.
      Crafted from birch plywood, the seating is positioned at the building’s heart to provide access to the first floor of the complex while doubling as a gathering point for occupants.
      Find out more about Millwall Ironworks ›
      Photo is by Mark CraemerQuartz offices, USA, by Desai Chia Architecture
      The Quartz offices in New York feature a large events space, lined on three sides with chunky bleacher seating made from plywood.
      The seating was designed by Desai Chia Architecture to accommodate everything from parties to symposiums and is complemented by moveable furniture. It also incorporates hidden storage units at its base.
      Find out more about Quartz offices ›
      Photo is by Ema PeterSlack offices, Canada, by Leckie Studio
      Company-wide meetings are hosted on these cushioned bleachers, which form the focal point of the Slack offices designed by Leckie Studio in a Vancouver warehouse.
      Set in a double-height atrium, the stadium-like seating runs alongside a staircase that links two floors of open-plan workspace and incorporates plug sockets to allow employees to work from the bleachers.
      Find out more about Slack offices ›

      Eventbrite offices, USA, by Rapt Studio
      Rapt Studio added cushions to the stadium-like seating that it designed for the offices of e-ticketing company Eventbrite in San Francisco.
      Built from light wood, the seating was introduced to support large company meetings and offers a counterpoint to the one-on-one workrooms and quiet nooks elsewhere in the office. The cushions are upholstered in blue fabrics and teamed with matching ottomans.
      Find out more about Eventbrite offices ›
      Photo is by Inpetto foto grafischThe Houtloods, the Netherlands, by Bedaux de Brouwer Architecten
      This wooden bleacher-style seating was designed by Bedaux de Brouwer to conceal private offices, toilets and storage at this advertising agency in an old railway building in Tilburg.
      The seating also provides the office with an informal auditorium for group meetings. At the top of the structure are personal workstations for employees, accessed by a staircase built into its bleachers or metal stairs along its edge.
      Find out more about The Houtloods ›
      Photo is by Bruno GilibertoFintual offices, Chile, by Studio Cáceres Lazo
      Studio Cáceres Lazo mounted this small bank of bleachers on wheels to allow employees at Fintual in Santiago to move it around their office for group meetings or gatherings.
      The office, which occupies an old mansion by architect Sergio Larraín García-Moreno, was designed as a flexible work environment for the financial startup. The stepped seating is made from laminated wooden boards and finished with square cushions and potted plants.
      Find out more about Fintual offices ›
      Photo is courtesy of Nacása & PartnersNikken Space Design offices, Japan, by Nikken Sekkei
      Books and magazines can be found in the hollowed-out steps of this bleacher-style seating structure, located at the centre of the Nikken Space Design offices in Osaka.
      Built from recycled scaffolding planks and complete with small side tables, the rows of seating-cum-bookshelves encourage staff to pick up a book at any time to help support their creativity.
      Find out more about Nikken Space Design offices ›

      Airbnb offices, Singapore, by Farm
      At Airbnb’s Singapore office, local studio Farm positioned a group of small wooden bleachers in a room for informal meetings and presentations.
      Each bank is lined with four rows of cushioned seating and also incorporates a small nook at its rear. Fitted with benches, these nooks provide employees with a cosy space to work alone or with colleagues.
      Find out more about Airbnb offices ›
      Photo is by Michael GrimmSlack offices, USA, by Snøhetta
      Wooden stadium-like seating also features at the Slack offices in New York, which Snøhetta created to suit “a variety of social interactions and work styles”.
      Positioned at the heart of the office, the large plywood steps are used for everything from informal conversations between colleagues to large company presentations. Snøhetta incorporated plants and a mix of cushions that help to soften its visual impact.
      Find out more about Slack offices ›
      Photo is by Rasmus Hjortshoj – COASTRed Cross Volunteer House, Denmark, by Cobe
      Architecture studio Cobe lined one side of this auditorium with tiered seating for the volunteer training, meetings and events held at the Red Cross Volunteer House in Copenhagen.
      It is framed by a dramatic stepped ceiling cast from concrete, which is the inversion of the stepped seating on top of the building that acts as a public meeting place.
      Find out more about Red Cross Volunteer House ›
      This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing homely office interiors, workspaces filled with plants and garden studios for remote working.

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      Studio Rhonda uses saturated colours and glass bricks to revamp Zetteler's headquarters

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      Interiors firm Studio Rhonda has redesigned communications agency Zetteler’s London office using contrasting colours and tactile vegan and deaf-friendly materials.

      The studio, which is led by Rhonda Drakeford, created a distinctive feeling for each of the headquarter’s three zones – a main work area, a smaller cafe-style space for meals and relaxing, and a meeting space.
      The Zetteler headquarters is located in east LondonAs Zetteler founder Sabine Zetteler has severe conductive hearing loss, it was also important that the office didn’t feature details such as hard floors and high ceilings, which can create a disruptive atmosphere.
      “The space was to be split into three zones, each with a different ambience and function, with an emphasis on the whole space to be deaf-friendly, plus there was the need for the materials used to be vegan,” Drakeford explained.
      Plants are dotted throughout the spaceThe choice to use vegan materials was based on the fact that most of Zetteler’s staff is vegan or vegetarian.

      “The research process was enlightening; for example, I was surprised to learn that some paints include casein, a dairy product,” Zetteler told Dezeen.
      “I’m proud that we’ve been able to find vegan options for all our integral building materials, but I would really like to see manufacturers take more responsibility for transparency, so we can all make more informed decisions.”
      A duck-egg blue decorates the main workspaceTo create distinctive zones in the office, located in a mid-century industrial block off Broadway Market in east London, Drakeford used different colours and materials to define the spaces.
      A pale duck-egg blue was used for the main work area, which also features a large desk in natural wood and a jute carpet that gives the room an organic feel.
      Glass bricks create a light meeting roomThe adjacent meeting room is enclosed in glass brick walls, which Zetteler had requested to allow for light to flow through the space.
      “I sourced some Czech glass bricks with graphic linear mouldings for a contemporary edge,” Drakeford explained.

      Fathom Architects designs London office with more meeting areas than desks

      “I devised an anchor line of 2,300 millimetres from the ground as the top height of any structures so as to maintain coherence in all three zones and also to help the space retain an open-plan feel,” she added.
      “The roof of the glass-brick ‘pod’ stops at the 2,300 millimetres anchor line, allowing light to travel over it.”
      The Zetteler kitchen features wood and Valchromat surfacesIn the kitchen, the interior designer used furniture from brand Hølte, a Zetteler client whose showroom is close to the office.
      “I specified custom oversize recessed handles and an unusual matching oak splash-back combined with a beige tap by Toniton for a mono-material/colour effect ‘block’,” Drakeford said.
      “We also used the oversize circular handles on the adjoining orange Valchromat storage cupboards, which were also produced by Hølte, and the green Valchromat sliding doors to the right of the kitchen block,”
      Pale blue walls meet green storage spaces and a glass-brick meeting roomThe use of colour was defined by the light in the different rooms of the office, which sits on a north-south axis.
      “I worked with a cool, duck-egg blue at the front, south-facing area as I knew that the space tends to get very warm in the summer,” Drakeford explained.
      “A warmer, buff colour was used at the rear, north-facing section, to counteract how cold that area can feel in the winter months.”
      Warmer hues were used at the north-facing rear of the buildingThe neutral backdrop hues were complemented by pops of colour in a variety of textured materials and chalky tones. To make the space deaf-friendly, the designer chose to add plenty of soft materials to the interiors.
      “Curtains and rugs are used throughout to help with zoning and privacy as well as optimising the acoustics,” Drakeford said.
      “The meeting pod is purpose-built, very solid and lined with acoustic vegan wool, creating a quiet sanctuary from the more open-plan spaces. Planting is also a key part of the acoustic softening, as well as making the space more welcoming.”
      A deep blue hue makes the meeting room feel cosyThe overall design aimed to create an office that didn’t have the “matchy-matchy” feel of many corporate office spaces, Drakeford said.
      “I approached this space in the same way I would treat a residential interior, with the warmth and comfort of a mismatched but visually coherent family of furniture and materials,” she added.
      Other notable London offices include The Crown Estate’s Fathom Architecture-designed space in St James’s and a “homely” office in the brutalist Smithson Tower.
      Photography is by Taran Wilkhu.

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      MSMR Architects designs DL/78 workspace to double as “town hall”

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      MSMR Architects has designed a co-working office in London’s Fitzrovia that can also be used as a space for talks or exhibitions.

      DL/78 is located in 80 Charlotte Street, a new 30,000-square-metre mixed-use building designed by Make for property developer Derwent London. It is offered as an amenity to the company’s office customers.
      DL/78 is designed to be used as a workspace or event spaceMSMR Architects designed the space to be as flexible as possible, able to accommodate different types of office work and also events where Derwent London’s community can connect.
      According to the studio, DL/78 “can be adapted to serve as a town hall for hosting presentations, talks and exhibitions”.
      The space is offered to Derwent London’s office customers as an amenity”Since the pandemic, there has been a lot of talk about the future of the office,” said MSMR Architects’ associate director Kevin Savage.

      “It’s been interesting working on a project that is challenging workspace norms and starting to anticipate changing needs.”
      Curtains allow spaces to be sectioned offWith 780 square metres of floor space, the two-level DL/78 is spread over the ground and lower ground floors of 80 Charlotte Street.
      Amenities centre around a grand double-height space, which is framed on two sides by high-level windows.

      Fathom Architects designs London office with more meeting areas than desks

      Different types of furniture help to organise this space into different zones, but can all easily be moved to facilitate different layouts when required.
      Additional rooms wrap around one side of the space. These include a conference room, a series of meeting rooms, a wellness room, kitchen facilities and a public cafe operated by Lantana.
      Meeting rooms are defined by glass screensGlass screens are favoured over partition walls so that spaces can be both visually connected and acoustically private. There are also curtains, allowing certain areas to be sectioned off.
      “This space is collaborative, flexible and more domestic in feel,” said Savage. “Is that what future office space might look like?”
      Design details take cues from British Constructivist artVisually, the space is designed to reference British Constructivism, a 1950s art movement with strong links to Fitzrovia.
      This can be observed in both 80 Charlotte Street’s architecture and the interior design of DL/78, with many details designed to express structure.
      The space includes a public Lantana cafe featuring bespoke terrazzo floor tilesKey areas include the staircase, where mesh panels slot into the steel beams, and the junction between the balustrade and the exposed floor plate.
      “A challenging programme meant that there was early engagement with trades and craftspeople during the design stages,” said project architect Aaron Birch. “This allowed for a more collaborative approach, which is evident in the detail and finish which really elevates the space.”
      DL/78 is located in the Make-designed 80 Charlotte Street in FitzroviaDL/78 is the latest is a series of projects that explore how office spaces might develop in the aftermath of the pandemic, with companies having to work harder to entice people away from working from home.
      Other recent examples include a co-working space designed around wellness principles and an office with more meetings areas than desks.
      Photography is by Jack Hobhouse.

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