Labors of Love: Celebrate Labor Day With these Progressive Workspace Designs

Labor Day is dedicated to the celebration of workers’ professional achievements and economic progress. For those working in the United States, the holiday falls on the first Monday of September and signals the end of summer. Many Americans associate the holiday with sunny outdoor celebrations, frenzied back-to-school preparation, and sales in stores across the country. The three-day weekend is everyone’s last chance to savor the warm summer days before fall goes into full swing and the academic year begins.

Beyond the seasonal transition, Labor Day marks important developments in labor history and politics. The holiday was established in 1882 in the thick of the Industrial Revolution, when workers organized strikes to renegotiate their arduous working conditions with employers. Their social and political activism paved the way for anti-child labor laws, the eight-hour workday, and the New Deal, which included unemployment insurance and social security legislation. As University of Chicago public policy scholar Chad Broughton wrote, Labor Day was “meant to honor not just the individual worker, but what workers accomplish together through activism and organizing.”

Fast-forward to today’s work culture, the focus of which has shifted away from the needs of industrial workers to meet those of educated workers in a service economy. Architects and business leaders are asking themselves: what should the ideal workplace look like? How do we attract the best talent, and what does it take to maximize their productivity? Many contemporary work cultures place a new emphasis on creative collaboration, building community, and a causal attitude distinct from that of traditional corporate hierarchies.

Architects play a crucial role in facilitating the new approach to the work environment. Built to encourage creativity and teamwork, many office designs are based on an open plan with connected desks and glass walls, allowing employees to see the work happening all around them. These designs frequently include small, cozy nooks for more one-on-one conversations, a much more informal alternative to conference rooms. Staircases are often placed in the middle of the room instead of the back, allowing room for chance encounters as people pass by one another.

For a dose of creative inspiration — and some serious office envy — take a tour of the following creative workspaces around the world. And whether or not you’re in the United States, be sure to give yourself a generous break from work to relish the end of summer. You deserve it.

Hybrid Officeby Edward Ogosta Architecture, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Designed for a small creative media agency, this California office includes an amphitheater-like gathering space, glass-walled conference rooms, and a cozy nook. The offices are divided by architectural furniture built specifically for the space. The consistent white color reflects the natural light pouring in, creating a warm, inviting environment.

Office Building and Logistic Centerbymodostudio, Nola, Italy

This Italian office building is characterized by its unique façade design and well-lit interior. The central staircase gives employees and visitors a place to stop and chat.

Sugamo Shinkin Bank / Shimura Branchby emmanuelle moureaux architecture + design, Azusawa, Japan

The rainbow-like stack of colored layers makes this bank office unlike any other. Playful colors and flower designs in the communal spaces add a playful flair to the interior. Long glass air wells bring in light and let workers look up at the sky from inside the office.

Office Building in Lazikaby Architects of Invention, Lazika Municipality, Georgia

This inventive steel-structured building houses local municipal offices. The building is less a stack of floors than it is a collection of volumes. It feels more like a futuristic sculpture on a massive scale than anything else. Inside, conference tables are marked off by transparent colored glass, allowing workers to observe the larger environment around them, but still work together somewhat privately.

Sur Yapi Offices by tago architects, Istanbul, Turkey

A real estate sales office, this Turkish workspace is stunning from the inside and out. The structure includes two protruding cantilevers and is surrounded by beautifully designed geometric wood panels. The sleek interior includes glass-walled meeting rooms and plenty of communal space.

Movet Office Loftby Studio Alexander Fehre, Schorndorf, Germany

The headquarters of a German conveyor belt company, this contemporary office uses an airy metal mesh façade to delineate various areas of the office without blocking them off entirely. The communal kitchen offers employees a place to socialize during mealtimes and share ideas.

Spicebox Officeby Nendo, Tokyo, Japan

This innovative office space is made for a creative marketing agency. Each box ‘opens’ in a different way, and gives employees a place to meet with one another, collaborate, and share inspiration for their next big campaign.