As a firm driven by sustainability, our goal for our new office in Warsaw was to demonstrate how we can embed sustainable and circular solutions into workplace design. As a workplace, Arup wanted to make new offices that not only fulfilled that sustainability requirement, but that fitted our colleagues’ needs, making a better, more comfortable environment in which to be creative and collaborative. 

With colleagues from across all disciplines and career stages, we hosted interviews and workshops to imagine a sustainable work environment that boosts collaboration. Workplace design studio provided interior design services, while Arup’s own project management talent and sustainable development specialists helped bring the concept to life. Focused on sustainability, we designed with re-use, upcycling and biomaterials in mind, and brought in plants, eye-friendly lighting and a rest area using circular economy principles. 

Our new office in Warsaw creates a relaxing, inspiring workspace that brings people together, while allowing quiet spaces to recharge your batteries throughout the day. As a project, the office allowed us to exemplify the kind of sustainable and human-centred project, created through partnerships, that we believe in. As a workplace, it brings light, plant-life and other amenities into the workspace in order to make the kind of space in which collaborations happen.

Adopting circular economy principles in our design

Simplicity is key to many circular solutions. Mosaics in the reception and library were created from leftover kitchen tiles, while carpet mosaics were created from samples laying around our interior designer’s office. Phone booths in the working areas used to be displayed in a showroom.  

Thinking ‘what next?’ was the playful inspiration for selecting materials for this workplace. Sustainable and chic FORESTA acoustic panels, developed by Arup and Italian bio-design firm Mogu, made of mycelium, the vegetative tissue of fungus, were amongst the solutions we chose. Cradle-to-cradle certified carpets made of recycled materials were stretched across the office. The ceilings, part of the ventilation and heating systems, the server room chilling system, and toilet infrastructure were largely kept from the previous tenant, enabling 25% in savings.  

Breaking the myth that second-hand furniture may look worn-out, over 90% of furniture in the office had previous owners but looks brand new. Desk chairs from our former office got new paddings and were re-used while desk partitions were turned into acoustic panels. Furniture from our previous office, which couldn’t be turned into new pieces, was offered for sale to staff members. Any left items were sold to our partner Zero Waste Design, a firm upcycling furniture, who will repurpose them. 

Plants in the office

With over 600 plants, greenery is a dominant element in Arup’s Warsaw office

More plants in the office

Simplicity is key to many circular solutions. Mosaics in the reception and library were created from leftover kitchen tiles; while carpet mosaics were created from samples laying around our interior designer’s office

Sustainability and nature influence design

Living in cities, our minds often crave nature. Research shows that green spaces boost creativity and the ability to focus. With over 600 plants, greenery is a dominant element in Arup’s Warsaw office – during a series of workshops, staff members turned 70 seedlings into more than 300 plants. Aromatic basil and mint grow in the hydroponic, non-soil farm in the regeneration area, available to be added to sandwiches and salads and encourage healthy eating habits. The main kitchen is home to a farm of micro-plants, nutritious greens grown from the seeds of vegetables and herbs.  

Lighting design 

The lighting system was designed based on the research on how light affects the human eye, aiming to be as easy on the human eye as artificial light can be. It is also motion-and-presence based so the lights turn off when not needed. To maximise the use of daylight, we used light shelves, a simple architectural device to bounce natural light deeper into a building. Adjustable light shelves on the windows provide shade to users most exposed to sunlight next to the window, while reflecting light deeper inside the office to reach more desks. The lighting system imitates daylight, which is especially important during Polish winters, when the sun sets around 3 pm.