After an extensive renovation, the Rockfon office in the city of Roermond in the Netherlands reopened in April 2023. An area of 700 m2 was transformed into an activity-based workplace by Judith Muijtjens, founder of the Eindhoven-based design firm Wonderful Day Design.
Whether focus areas or collaboration zones, team members can now choose where to work from while enjoying the varied features of the acoustic solutions that they’ve helped to build and shape.
An Urgent Need for Office Renovation
Initial plans to renovate the Rockfon office sprouted in 2019 when an internal survey revealed that employees were facing difficulties concentrating due to a noisy working environment primarily caused by wall-to-wall sound leakage. Their focus flows were regularly disturbed by the conversations that they could hear from adjacent rooms.
Additionally, the traditional floor plan wasn’t optimised and there was a poor balance between areas for independent work, collaboration, and breakout.
“Employees often achieved more work from home than at the office,” said Roger Dezaire, Commercial Director Benelux at Rockfon.
It became evident that the team members wanted to see their workplace improved. As the world's leading acoustic company, Rockfon stands for excellence in acoustic performance, indoor environmental quality, and occupant well-being. An office that lacks across those facets needed to be remedied. “We approached their complaints with the motto of ‘practice what you preach’.
Participatory Research with Judith Muijtjens
The research process of the office renovation began by sourcing feedback and ideas from employees across all departments. The team members primarily expressed interest in having access to both quiet areas and collaboration zones in a modern office model. They were also curious to see the acoustic performance of Rockfon products in action around them.
Following an extensive participatory research process, the concept of an activity-based office emerged – one that would provide team members with ample working space options to choose from.
“Collaboration, togetherness, and the human dimension have been central from the very beginning,” said Judith Muijtjens, alluding to the human-centric design approach at the core of the office renovation. “This is evident in the design which is genuinely tailored to the employees.”
The concept introduces various new spaces:
- A multipurpose cafe
- A brainstorming area and hybrid workspace
- A central space to test and showcase new products
- Other multifunctional spaces
The colour palette was developed based on evidence-based learnings. Calming blue tones across workstations help enhance concentration, and in the central product showcase space, invigorating green tones inspire the team and reflect the biophilic ethos of the new design collection. The entrance, work cafe, and brainstorming room feature energising red tones, whereas yellow tones at the entrance bring in cheer and light-heartedness.
