Citizen Office

Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein

Action Office (1982)
Citizen Office exhibition (1993)
Net ‘n‘ Nest (2006)
Citizen Office today
In 2000 a revolutionary office concept was introduced on the Vitra Campus: the Network Office. In collaboration with Sevil Peach, Vitra replaced the Action Office-style cubicles in the Grimshaw building with an environment for collaboration that reflected the pioneering spirit of the company. The architectural cornerstones of that time are still in place today. The idea was so strong and compelling that, with some adjustments over the years, it remains just as relevant and vital to this day.

The office in Nicholas Grimshaw’s building is proof that a high-quality interior which ignores trends and allows for change is a sustainable investment in a company’s DNA. In 2006, the Network Office was transformed into the Net ’n’ Nest Office to reflect the realisation that an office needs to accommodate both retreat and collaboration. The products Alcove (2006) and Joyn (2002) directly represented these two work modes and were integrated in the concept.

Further adjustments were carried out in 2010 and 2018: the Citizen Office was created, in which an ‘Office Forum’ for direct interaction and communication is surrounded by traditional workstations. The office was seen as a living space with complex infrastructure – like a city. The forum is the marketplace and the surrounding workstations are the individual neighbourhoods of this city.
In recent years, the Vitra Campus as a whole has been expanded and revitalised. Public cafés, shops, another museum, a garden and much more have made their appearance. The number of visitors has grown from 90,000 to around 400,000 per year. The campus has thus become a ‘city’ in which the Citizen Office plays an important role for the Vitra team: it is the home base for many employees, who can now work from anywhere – even from their own home – thanks to mobile devices and an excellent infrastructure. In this context, the role of the Citizen Office is changing. It has become a filling station for exchanging ideas with colleagues and for networking with the other teams that are also located there.

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Offices at Vitra

Our offices serve as a field of experimentation. A number of them are also accessible to our customers. They convey an in-depth impression of the many different ways that contemporary work environments can be created – tailored to individual needs and requirements.

Breathing Offices - A Studio Visit with Sevil Peach

"Bringing the people into a focal hub encourages cultural identification with the company and enables collaboration."