Workplace Infiltrating the City
Keeping pace with the advance of information and communication technology, communication style and business systems are diversifying. In such an era, digital network access points are spreading beyond the confines of the office into the city. What kind of workplace will emerge when various spaces and services are expanded and dispersed?

 
United Spaces/ Copenhagen,DENMARK
What is a Serviced Office?  
A serviced office is a new type of rental office provided with high-quality workplace facilities including furniture and communication equipment, and high-level services, allowing clients to move in and move out with relative ease. This low-cost and low-risk office with high flexibility will grow as part of corporate FM solutions as well as small business bases. CASE STUDY 1-5 are the updates of the European scene.
Networking Office Promoting Interaction
People with high skills and passion for work move out of traditional organizations, looking for new forms of collaboration and networking. United Spaces has opened in response to this trend. It is more than a serviced office which offers space and equipment. Its concept is to build a platform where members can share knowledge and ideas. In other words, United Spaces is a unique networking office, blending a club where people get together with a place to work.
 
United Spaces/ Copenhagen, DENMARK
Flexible Services and Spaces
Agility and flexibility are crucial factors required of serviced offices. eOffice, with "Plug and Work" as its slogan and lending itself to leases as short as one-month, is one of the cutting-edge office space providers, ahead of numerous other counterparts. eOffice, an open environment with a stylish design and equipped with broadband connections for swift communication, is a space which reminds of an Internet cafe rather than a rental office.
 
eOffice/ London, ENGLAND
Colorful Serviced Office
Promoting Touch-Down Culture
D-Office, with its three sites located near Amsterdam, is a serviced office, mainly providing touch-down spaces. In the Netherlands, a country which has transformed itself from a traditional industry-oriented nation to a service-oriented nation, IT has advanced to such an extent that workers do not have to be office bound. However, companies are generally known to be slow in introducing flexible workstyle. Traffic congestion in metropolitan area is deteriorating day by day. D-Office appears to be a breakthrough solution to such a situation.
 
Regus D-Office/Amsterdam,HOLLAND
Rental Office in Business Park
Promising Fun Working Time
Regus, which opened its first business center in Brussels, Belgium, in 1989, has now developed to boast 411 centers in 190 cities in 51 countries, with a catchphrase of "Instant Offices Worldwide." Regus offers spaces, equipment, up-to-date information and support staff from as short as one hour. Obtaining a workplace is as simple as booking a hotel room. Regus Chiswick Park is located in a unique business park which promotes "Enjoy Work."
 
Regus Chiswick Park/ London, ENGLAND
Elegant Workplace along the Canal
A high brick facade. An elaborately decorated gabled roof. A narrow frontage. These characteristics inform the houses along the canals, called canal houses, which are part of the landscape in Amsterdam. Euro Business Center, the first serviced office in the Netherlands, is housed in renovated canal houses. Fully equipped as it is for business activities, the office retains an elegant atmosphere of old days, so replete with class and comfort that it is hard to imagine you are in a business office.
 
Euro Business Center/ Amsterdam, HOLLAND
Five-Star Services
64 Knightsbridge is located in Knightsbridge, the world famous fashion quarter in England. Streets in the area are lined with classy department stores such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols and fashion boutiques. It is close to an underground station and flanked by Hyde Park. Its services are quite distinguished from other serviced offices, due to added high-quality services offered by the adjacent five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
 
64 Knightsbridge/ London, ENGLAND
Touch & Go
 
Schiphol Airport/ Amsterdam, HOLLAND
Urban Workplace Model for the New Economy  
The advent of the New Economy is an ideal opportunity to radically change the workplace environment of European knowledge workers. With this in mind, the European Commission commenced a research project called "SANE" (Sustainable Accommodation for the New Economy) in 2001. The Space Environment Model focusing on "place" and the Distributed Workplace Strategy are being pursued among its outcomes under the initiatives of DEGW, a design firm which has been frequently featured in ECIFFO.
A Playful Creative Office Converted from a Church
It is difficult to find a building suitable for an office in European cities, where it is mandatory to preserve historical buildings. On the other hand, an old building which outlived its original function is often set aside for preservation. The office of KesselsKramer, a Dutch advertisement agency, is a compromise to such a situation. The huge space, which used to be a Catholic church, was converted into a dynamic office.
 
KesselsKramer/ Amsterdam, HOLLAND
Where Does the Center Office Go?
As virtualization becomes more prevalent, the workplace extends itself into urban environments, transgressing the boundary of traditional workspace. Thus, facility strategy is no longer complete if it only looks at what is contained within the office. This will inevitably change the roles of the office. The central office of DHV, a Dutch engineering consultancy, is an apt example, offering suggestions as to the future direction of the central office.
 
DHV/ Amersfoort, HOLLAND
A Glimpse into the Future Workplace  
As virtualization becomes more prevalent, the workplace extends itself into urban The advance of technology accompanies a rapid change of workstyle. What would be the next generation workplace like? Companies and research institutes in various countries have been exploring this theme from their own perspectives and have come up with ideas. The Office Innovation Center (OIC) based in Stuttgart, a city in mid-west Germany, incorporates one of the ideas. This article introduces their cutting-edge project, focusing on their office, which itself is a showcase of their research outcomes.
 
Office Innovation Center/ Stuttgart, GERMANY