To demonstrate that a sustainable office interior can be exciting, affordable, and very practical we decided to make our own work space an example of just that. The Except office in Rotterdam is located in a restored office building, which had previously stood empty for over a decade. Our renovation process brought together new ideas about collaboration, innovative material use, and exciting design.
From the recovered foam in our couch cushions to the conference table made entirely from waste wood from the (ex-)ceiling, the office has something exciting to see at every turn. It reflects the diversity of Except in its apperance as well as its function: it is flexibly arranged, providing for both large project teams and individual working spaces.
Looking around the city we can find a wealth of discarded materials that can be transformed into lovable objects for use in our everyday environment. This office makes maximum use of such post-consumer and post-industrial waste materials and super-uses it as desks, couches, shelves, flowerpots, benches and for many other functions.
Shipping Pallets
A central element in the design is the use of discarded shipping pallets. These have become large desks, couches, a light fixture, ottomans and decks of various sorts. Their raw industrial appeal mixes with a warm and attractive working surface that is surprisingly effective.
LED Lighting
The office has a warm, welcoming and exciting appeal due to the large variety of LED lights on display. They demonstrate the flexibility and quality of various LED products available.
Green things
The many diverse plants keep the air fresh and provide a verdant feel to the studio. A large number are edible as well, with various legumes, a citrus tree and herbs lining the windows, ready to pick for lunch.
Surface Treatment
The raw concrete floor has been treated with linseed oil as a seal, giving a unique urban feeling, and serving as an alternative to the use of toxic materials such as floor paints or carpeting. All wall paint used in the building was ecological and non-toxic. The paint's bright colors show the possibilities that ecological paints have, and retain a healthy air quality.
Appliances and fittings
The office uses mainly desktop replacement laptops due to reduced impact relative to desktops. In the kitchen, a functioning worm composting unit allows us to convert a large part of our organic wastes and paper into usable soil substrate for all of the office plants.
Finally, a careful selection of appliances, fittings, and interior decoration makes this eco-friendly office welcoming, healthy, and exciting for visitors and users alike.
July 2010
Team:
Tom Bosschaert
Eva Gladek
Olivier Cornelissen
Except is an integrated sustainability research and design network. We are sustainability consultants, researchers and designers.
Except develops project using a systemic life-cycle approach, where we integrate the complex issues regarding systainability, society, economy and technology in inspiring solutions for the future. Look here for more of our design and planning work, and here for consultancy and research.
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