Perkins and Will, Dubai

The Dubai office of Perkins and Will integrates a contemporary open aesthetic with functional and programming requirements that include flexibility, transparency, and employee wellness in an environment that fosters collaboration as a key design tool.

The new office design created a unique opportunity to not only alter the physical surroundings but to also enhance and celebrate the collaborative process through an alternate approach to workplace design. The modern, predominately white space offers surprise color in cabinets, phone rooms and closets. Floor to ceiling glass walls allow daylight to infuse the space throughout the day, primarily without artificial lighting.

The open studio form mimics the path of the teaming areas and is in immediate proximity to it. Staff are encouraged to be mobile and work beyond their desks, utilizing all areas of the office to work. Prior workstation partitions and stair guardrails have been salvaged and repurposed into new furniture, offering a visual ‘memory’ and reinforcing the office’s history.

Challenging conventional workplace models, we set out to do less—fewer walls and fixed furniture, simpler materials, less energy use, no assigned seating—to in turn offer more opportunity for choice, creativity, and collaboration.                                                                                                  Brunner