Project Happy Hybrid
A hybrid office with space for spontaneous encounters
workplace design | future scenario | film
Clients
Atelier Rijksbouwmeester
In collaboration with
Studio Lonk
Team
Celine de Waal Malefijt
Jorien Kemerink
Tessa Steenkamp
Special thanks to
JHB visuals
Daniel Maarleveld
During the covid pandemic, working from home seemed like a temporary emergency. Looking back now, it has likely changed how we work forever. Invited by Atelier Rijksbouwmeester, we explored the new demands hybrid working brings to the 2 million square meter of offices owned by the national government.
Together with Studio Lonk we designed and directed a short, fictional movie: Happy Hybrid.
What should the future office feel like?
By acting out the desired interactions in the workplace, we visualise possible future experiences without focussing too much on one technology. The movie is easy to send to colleagues, and provokes discussions: what do you think? Is this the direction we should take? How could we redesign our office for these kind of interactions?
Working with a disruptive technology?
Disruptive technologies can empower us, but often also require a change of behaviour. How will these changes impact us on the long term? And how can we actively choose the path we are heading for? Experiments and visual scenario’s, like this movie, help to make tomorrow’s questions tangible today.
Let’s talk about it
An office for
good teamwork
Not all office workers like the new status quo of hybrid working. It is nice to work from home occasionally, highly focussed and in pyjamas, but for the collective good much is also lost. In hybrid meetings, digital attendees often pull the momentum out of the conversation. Junior colleagues miss a sense of belonging, and have trouble learning from their team. And there are no quick catch-ups at the coffee machine.
Happy Hybrid focusses on bringing back those spontaneous encounters in an office where not everyone is physically present. How do we give digital colleagues a tangible presence in the team? And how do we stay receptive of each other's work when this is hidden in a digital maze of laptops, folders and platforms?
Further reading
Report Happy Hybrid
This reports accompanies the film, and illustrates the insights behind every scene. It also summarises the research and work sessions with public servants.Toekomst van het Samenwerken
Atelier Rijksbouwmeester extracted eight takeaways from the process. You can read those in this advisory report, titled: The Future of Collaboration.