Amazing Work Spaces: Historical Marketplace Turned Plant-Filled Office
Now this is our idea of a dream office! Feast your eyes on this incredible work-space, absolutely chock-full of potted plants. Once part of Lisbon's oldest food market, this area of the building has been transformed into a unique and breath-taking (or perhaps with all that O2, breath-giving!) co-working space for Second Home Lisboa. Situated within the Mercado Da Ribeira, the office is a huge 1,115 square metres and features a modern and quirky open plan design in order to showcase the historical iron windows and columns of the historical marketplace.
To distinguish the new work area from the 1892 marketplace, the ironwork has been painted vibrant yellows and greens. "We wanted absolutely to maintain that inherited idea of one single open space, getting small companies to share a huge table divided in three, encouraging relationships," architect Lucia Cano explained. "The flowing design of the table gives members their own area of private space to focus on their work whilst keeping a sense of community."
Claiming to be one of the greenest buildings in Europe, the workplace uses a radiant heating and cooling system in place of an air conditioner to promote its eco-friendly ethos. The system is based on the concept of greenhouses. Cano explained this process, "Another big aim was to reduce the energy consumption of the building. Working with one of the best climate engineers we ever worked with, Adam Ritchie, we were able to eliminate the air-conditioning system and create a radiant floor system with natural ventilation taken from the ones used in a conventional greenhouse,"
The work space is adorned with over 1,000 plant pots and trees which offer workers visual privacy whilst still maintaining a friendly and collaborative atmosphere. The work output in this office is sure to be high too, as plants have been proven to improve productivity, increase idea generation and promote creativity.