The World’s Coolest Offices

Selgas Cano near Madrid

This architect practice has to have one of the most Zen offices around as it’s half underground and when you’re above ground, you’re in a forest. Not leafy wallpaper, mind, you’re actually looking through the curved glass walls into a real forest. This office is filled with light and is focused on being a calm, “free” place to unleash creativity.

Google Office in Zurich

Onto a bigger company now – Google. It’s well-known that Google values its employees and so the company spends a lot of money and effort in making sure they’re happy at work. It has created the perfect blend of work, fun and relaxation, as well as food, for its workers and every feature in the Zurich office serves a purpose.

Google has a rule that no-one is allowed to be more than 100 yards away from food, so there are kitchens everywhere, as well as an amazing canteen that dishes up tasty food three times a day. If you fancy a shortcut anywhere, there’s also a fireman’s pole or a huge slide to get you around. If you want to relax after yet another gorgeous meal, head to the library or the aquarium!

Dtac Headquarters in Bangkok

Telecoms company Dtac decided to bring all of its six premises together rather than having them scattered all over Bangkok. This move led to Thailand’s biggest ever office lease – around 650,000 square feet – and was part of the company’s effort to bring employees together in a spirit of co-operation and common goals, and to foster communication and creativity.

Dtac likes to learn and play and so one of the 22 floors in the office is given entirely over to fun, with a running track, an indoor football area, table tennis and performance spaces. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also the Conversation Pit, the Picnic table and the Dining Room. Makes you wonder what you could do with that office to let in Bracknell, right?

Gummo in Amsterdam

Ad agency Gummoplanned to lease the first floor of the old Parool newspaper office for just two years, so decided to leave as light a footprint as possible. It adopted the “reduce, reuse, recycle” approach in its furniture and fittings. Click here to read more about recycling.Gummo sourced used items from eBay, local charity shops and leftovers from its previous address. Once installed, the company spray-painted everything grey and white – its new livery – showing everyone how to use temporary office space with panache.

KBP West Offices in San Francisco

Another ad agency, KBP West does its thing in a unique office that transforms into a conference centre thanks to some sliding walls. They can be opened to combine the building’s three wings into one big conference space. Even when the walls are back in place these offices are something special – there are oddly-shaped rooms with chalkboard walls, mini-staircases leading up to phone booths for conference calls – all encased in an outwardly-white warehouse. When the strange angles get too much, workers can seek refuge in an indoor garden or massive dining room.