MIXD specializes in hotel design, which is why the design of the Intive office in Wroclaw is based on concept of hospitality. This includes accepting a man as he is. Hospitality is a mixture containing empathy, respect for individualism, fun and sharing experiences. Such an office raises positive emotions, strengthens relationships between people, creates a good work environment.
Project Name: Intive office
Studio Name: MIXD
Area: 4400 m2
Location: Wroclaw, Poland
Photography: MIXD
“People are the center of our company. Without them, we would only have empty chairs in our offices, and the products we create would not have users.”- these are the words of Ludovic Gaude, the founder of intive. It is not surprising that for this investor more important than the design “fireworks” was the well-being of employees, creating a space to implement their passion and expressing personality.
MIXD designers focused on a diverse, flexible space, but also with a powerful “cool factor”, allowing young programmers to identify with this place. They also enlarged and opened up the maximum of shared office spaces to give numerous teams the opportunity to meet, talk, get to know each other better, and spend time together. After all, it is known for a long time that the best parties are happening in the kitchen… Finally, they invited a group of intive employees to take part in Culture Club® workshops, allowing them to share their ideas for organizing the office.
The creation of the concept took MIXD only about 3 months – the work was carried out very quickly, in stages of 2-3 weeks. This way of working is the Design Cycles® method used by MIXD – a design process divided into three parts. Later, as a design manager, MIXD designer supervised the entire process of equipment and assembly – floors, ceilings, lighting, murals, fixed and movable furniture.
Is this an office or a cafe?
The cosiness of the intive office is manifested primarily in a large amount of wood, upholstered furniture, colourful accents. Two principles were key – first, to mix typically office equipment with more “home-like” elements, such as Fameg and Paged chairs or the iconic Polish Chierowski armchairs. For young people working in intive, such furniture is associated with a fashionably furnished apartment or favorite cafe and creates a positive atmosphere.
Secondly, the focus was mainly on Polish and Wroclaw companies (e.g. Bakata Design) –to keep the project sustainable and support local business. Designers from MIXD also focused on the acoustic comfort of the office – hence many sound-absorbing elements such as rugs, carpets, wood wool ceiling panels, upholstered seats, cushions, and pressed felt lamps. Here, rugs and carpets made according to an individual design by Newmor are particularly interesting – their oriental designs look modern thanks to pixelation.
Work and passion
Intive currently has 19 offices in 6 countries – Wroclaw is one of five in Poland. Located in a new building in the city center, it occupies two floors and has an area of 4400 m2 – a team of 450 people is expected to work there. Intive works in a project way – a team of employees is created for each order, the composition and size of these teams vary depending on the nature of the project.
Therefore, in the office we will find places to work in groups, for short meetings, briefings, as well as a place where you can work comfortably alone. Attention is drawn to the fun designation of the conference rooms. The murals of local artist ŁukaszKulikowski appearing in various rooms are also light, slightly humorous. Comic scenes refer to free time: so we’ll see guests at restaurants, cyclists, jazz band concert or gourmets enjoying sushi. All this reminds us of pleasant experiences and passions – equally important for young people as work.
A moment in solitude
Another characteristic element of the intive office are seating places located in padded niches, located along the entire length of numerous corridors. Thanks to their arrangement opposite internal windows, it was possible to provide there natural light and visually “open” corridors. Recess is a place where you can hang out alone with a laptop or talk on the phone – this is an important intimacy space in the workplace. Lamps and lighting systems were carefully selected for the color and light intensity. Some also have special sound-absorbing functions – this supports the fight against noise – one of the most frequently indicated disturbances in the office space.
A break for ficus
Living plants are an important element in the intive office. In addition to the positive impact on indoor air quality, the aspect of positive emotions and the passion of many people was equally important. Instead of expensive and difficult to care for green walls, open shelves and stands have appeared, where you can put single pots. Thanks to this, each employee can have their green pet in the office.
