Work aesthetically

“We want to do justice to the current generation’s needs,” explains Maarten Van Gool. And adds: “Today, staff members and freelancers don’t want some grey office environment. From us they get a professional work station and meaningful services into the bargain, exciting lectures, professional advice, activities. The range includes a library, healthy food, sports hours, and a whole lot more besides.” Co-working spaces are popping up all over the place, work is becoming ever more mobile and flexible, and the expectations of work stations rising fast. One key demand: aesthetic, stylishly designed spaces. Recently opened in Brussels, the “Boitsfort” is installed in an iconic building designed by Constantin Brodzki. The former head office of cement makers CBR is a striking, brutalist building. The 756 convex windows in their oval concrete modules and the façade’s parallel lines transform the nine-story building into a veritable monolith. “The character of the building, its history, its extraordinary architecture, the zeitgeist when it was erected – it was a perfect fit. On top of which, it’s also super-functional,” enthuses Stijn Geeraets.

The new space takes up 7,000 square meters and straddles seven of the nine floors. Alongside the private office spaces, the so-called “suites”, and the “studios” (shared office spaces), there are zones for shared use. The lobby (complete with a bar), a restaurant, the bar on the 8th floor with its panorama view, and the meeting rooms and auditorium are open to all. The service is geared to businesspeople, digital nomads as well as small and large corporations – and aesthetes. As the impressive rooms are the brainchild of interior designers Anaïs Torfs and Michiel Mertens alias “Going East”. There is hardly any use of color, and the coarse character of the concrete walls has been preserved. The uniform design of the flooring and furniture (such as chairs and tables) made of bright woods, along with the plants and the colorful sofas, form a warm, high-quality contrast to the concrete. The additional highlights: Thanks to collaboration with Brussels galleries and artists there are not only a few extravagant luminaires but a lot of art on display in the rooms. The office of tomorrow will certainly be an inspiring place offering a pleasant atmosphere in which to work and network productively. Fosbury & Sons wants its members to actually have the feeling that they have “come home” – all their efforts thus focus on the users well-being.