flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

British company OpenDesk offers open-sourced office furniture

Office Buildings

British company OpenDesk offers open-sourced office furniture

The company connects designers, manufacturers, and consumers to create what they call a “collaborative production” process.


By Adilla Menayang, Assistant Digital Editor | August 24, 2015
British company OpenDesk offers open-sourced office furniture

By turning furniture into downloadable templates, offices can be in charge of sourcing and manufacturing their own products. Screengrab of opendesk.cc/designs

An increasing number of offices are downloading their own office furniture as a measure to decrease their carbon footprint. Companies like London-based OpenDesk are making this possible.

According to Dezeen, OpenDesk has “relationships with 200 makers in 32 different countries, allowing consumers to connect with local manufacturers, and designers to share their creations globally without worrying about distribution.”

“A new consumer experience where any individual can be involved in the sourcing and manufacture of their own products,” James Arthur, Co-founder of OpenDesk, says on the company’s website. “We’re trying to do to Ikea what companies like Airbnb have done to hotel change.”

Examples of companies that have used OpenDesk furniture to furnish and equip their offices include Greenpeace, Kano, and the co-working space Impact Hub.

Related Stories

| Jan 15, 2012

Smith Consulting Architects designs Flower Hill Promenade expansion in Del Mar, Calif.

The $22 million expansion includes a 75,000-square-foot, two-story retail/office building and a 397-car parking structure, along with parking and circulation improvements and new landscaping throughout.

| Jan 12, 2012

CSHQA receives AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Merit Award for Idaho State Capitol restoration

After a century of service, use, and countless modifications which eroded the historical character of the building and grounds, the restoration brought the 200,000-sf building back to its former grandeur by restoring historical elements, preserving existing materials, and rehabilitating spaces for contemporary uses.

| Jan 4, 2012

New LEED Silver complex provides space for education and research

The academic-style facility supports education/training and research functions, and contains classrooms, auditoriums, laboratories, administrative offices and library facilities, as well as spaces for operating highly sophisticated training equipment.

| Jan 3, 2012

VDK Architects merges with Harley Ellis Devereaux

Harley Ellis Devereaux will relocate the employees in its current Berkeley, Calif., office to the new Oakland office location effective January 3, 2012.

| Jan 3, 2012

Rental Renaissance, The Rebirth of the Apartment Market

Across much of the U.S., apartment rents are rising, vacancy rates are falling. In just about every major urban area, new multifamily rental projects and major renovations are coming online. It may be too soon to pronounce the rental market fully recovered, but the trend is promising.

| Dec 29, 2011

Seismic safety in question at thousands of California public schools

California regulators responsible for enforcing earthquake safety laws have failed to certify more than 16,000 construction projects in California public schools, increasing the risk that some projects may be unsafe, according to a state audit report.

| Dec 21, 2011

BBI key to Philly high-rise renovation

The 200,000 sf building was recently outfitted with a new HVAC system and a state-of-the-art window retrofitting system.

| Dec 20, 2011

Research identifies most expensive U.S. commercial real estate markets

New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Mateo, Calif., rank highest in rents.

| Dec 20, 2011

Aragon Construction leading build-out of foursquare office

The modern, minimalist build-out will have elements of the foursquare “badges” in different aspects of the space, using glass, steel, and vibrantly painted gypsum board.

| Dec 19, 2011

Chicago’s Aqua Tower wins international design award

Aqua was named both regional and international winner of the International Property Award as Best Residential High-Rise Development.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Sustainable Design and Construction

Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure

Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.


MFPRO+ News

San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown. 

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021