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

High-rise Construction | Sep 3, 2015

Rafael Viñoly's 'Walkie-Talkie' tower named U.K.'s worst new building

The curved, glass tower at 20 Fenchurch Street in London has been known to reflect intense heat onto the streets below (in one instance damaging a car) and cause severe wind gusts. 

Retail Centers | Aug 27, 2015

Vallco Shopping Mall renovation plans include 'largest green roof in the world'

The new owners of the mall in Cupertino, Calif., intend to transform the outdated shopping mall into a multi-purpose complex, topped by a 30-acre park.

Mixed-Use | Aug 26, 2015

Innovation districts + tech clusters: How the ‘open innovation’ era is revitalizing urban cores

In the race for highly coveted tech companies and startups, cities, institutions, and developers are teaming to form innovation hot pockets.

Office Buildings | Aug 25, 2015

JLL report: Tenant improvement key to attracting Millennials

Millennials have been the driving force behind the growth in renovation construction projects since 2013, according to JLL.

Office Buildings | Aug 24, 2015

North America’s real estate market is close to stabilization in cap rate pricing

The latest CBRE survey, covering the first half of the year, finds retail and hotel sectors experiencing the greatest compression.

Office Buildings | Aug 19, 2015

Good design can combat open-office issues

Three tricks to maintain privacy and worker production in a cube-less world, according to GS&P's Jack E. Weber 

High-rise Construction | Aug 12, 2015

Construction begins for Kengo Kuma-designed twisted Rolex tower in Dallas

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma designs tower with gradually rotating floor plates for Rolex's new office in Dallas.

Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015

GOVERNMENT SECTOR GIANTS: Public sector spending even more cautiously on buildings

AEC firms that do government work say their public-sector clients have been going smaller to save money on construction projects, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.

Giants 400 | Aug 6, 2015

GREEN BUILDING GIANTS: Green building movement hits a new plateau, but the underlying problems remain

Today, the green building movement is all about eliminating toxic substances in building materials and systems and, for manufacturers, issuing environmental and health product declarations. Whether these efforts will lead to healthier products and building environments remains an open question.

Codes and Standards | Aug 6, 2015

Difference in male-female thermal comfort is due to clothing, ASHRAE says

Women wear lighter clothing in the summer, so they tend to be cooler in air-conditioned rooms, according to the group.

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