Citrix’s ‘workplace of the future’ designed by Area Sq

British office design and fit-out company Areq Sq have completed the refurbishment of an office for IT firm Citrix. The contemporary office can be found in La Defense, Paris, France.

Adelto loves how Area Sq have created a working platform to facilitate an ever-changing environment by mirroring the principles of a village town centre.

According to Citrix’s own research, organisations are set to reduce office space by almost a fifth (17 per cent) by 2020 and the workplace of the future will provide just six desks for every ten office workers in the UK. Organisations will have to redesign their office space to be more appealing, with the workplace of the future needing to foster creativity, be inspiring and encourage collaboration by enabling people to work from wherever, whenever and on whatever device so that work becomes something people do, not a place people go. It was essential for Citrix that the new headquarters in Paris embodied their vision for the future of the workplace embracing Citrix’s ‘workAnywhere’ philosophy.

Seeing themselves as a global village of smart, talented people and with team members from the UK, France and Germany all working from the Paris office, Area Sq replicated the layout and facilities of a village town centre with its town hall, bus stops (snug areas), business district (product demonstration area), library (training and meeting rooms), playground (break out areas) and village green to create a sense of community and encourage interaction.

With less than 50 per cent  of their own workforce, based at the Paris office full-time, Area Sq guided Citrix to create zonal spaces that encompassed a cafe, meeting rooms and a general space where people could communicate, meet and brainstorm, rather than having too many workstations. Other facilities include a training area, quiet rooms and a staff breakout complete with table football and PlayStations for staff to use throughout the day.

Sketch Studios, the sister company to Area Sq, worked closely with Citrix throughout the design process in order to select, procure, deliver and install furniture that reflected the clients ‘workAnywhere’ ethos. Sketch worked with a range of manufacturers including Herman Miller for desk and task seating, as well as designing and creating bespoke joinery pieces and mobile seating in the village, which can be adapted for a variety of uses. Sketch Studios was also responsible for managing the relocation of 120 staff and their filing, storage and IT equipment between locations in Paris. During the move Sketch was also able to recycle 95 per cent  of Citrix’s existing furniture with the use of new tops or covers to give them a new lease of life.

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