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

Codes and Standards | Feb 12, 2015

New Appraisal Institute form aids in analysis of green commercial building features

The Institute’s Commercial Green and Energy Efficient Addendum offers a communication tool that lenders can use as part of the scope of work. 

Office Buildings | Feb 12, 2015

Is Houston headed for an office glut?

More than 13 million sf could be completed this year, adding to this metro’s double-digit vacancy woes.

Architects | Feb 11, 2015

Shortlist for 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award announced

Copenhagen, Berlin, and Rotterdam are the cities where most of the shortlisted works have been built. 

Office Buildings | Feb 6, 2015

6 factors steering workplace design at financial services firms

Grossly underutilized space and a lack of a mobility strategy are among the trends identified by HOK based on its research of 11 top-tier financial services firms.

Contractors | Feb 6, 2015

Census Bureau: Capital spending by U.S. businesses increased 4.5%

Of the 19 industry sectors covered in the report, only one had a statistically significant year-to-year decrease in capital spending: the utilities sector.

Office Buildings | Feb 3, 2015

5 trends transforming workplace design

RTKL's workplace design expert Jodi Williams foresees healthier and more technologically enabled offices that allow productive worker interaction, wherever they happen to be.

Office Buildings | Feb 3, 2015

Bjarke Ingels' BIG proposes canopied, vertical village for Middle East media company

The tensile canopy shades a relaxation plaza from the desert sun.

Office Buildings | Feb 2, 2015

Study shows modern workers struggle to leave work at the office

Study findings indicate that more than half the respondents holds tight to their smartphones, checking and responding to email and taking phone calls, all or most of the time.

Office Buildings | Jan 28, 2015

Sustainability’s missed opportunity: small commercial buildings

The real opportunity for shrinking the nation’s energy footprint lies in the mundane world of small commercial buildings, writes BD+C's David Barista.

Office Buildings | Jan 27, 2015

London plans to build Foggo Associates' 'can of ham' building

The much delayed high-rise development at London’s 60-70 St. Mary Axe resembles a can of ham, and the project's architects are embracing the playful sobriquet.

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