Guest of our Trends Talk, Anouk van Oordt, founder of the company OOO, underlines how much we neglect the impact of interior layout and design on human resources. The Covid has started a change.
The interior layout of a company’s buildings and the design are not details. Anouk van Oordt, a Dutchwoman living in Brussels, is convinced of this. Trained as an interior designer, she is also a consultant on new ways of working. Twelve years ago, she created her company – OOO, say “triple O” – to supporting companies on the path to change by leading the way to an in-depth redevelopment of their living space. Because the form joins the substance, the place joins the soul.
Guest of our weekly program Trends Talk, which will be broadcast on a loop this weekend on Canal Z, Anouk van Oordt underlines the importance of working on the interior design. Too often, have companies been too functional? “I think it’s still far too much the case, she agrees. But the covid crisis may have awakened the need to reflect on the meaning of the office and if we come back to it, what is the purpose, the meaning, the feeling, the type of office, its materials and the coherence of the whole. That there is a correspondence between what we say and what we do.”
Often, companies are set up in the form of an open space with offices in rows of onions and more than relative privacy. “Each receives an assigned position, in silos. Pierre or Henriette receive assigned places in blocks of four in open spaces, she regrets. We do not take into account what the person must do during his dayhe is asked to carry out all his missions from this same workstation.” This is a reflection of “the old vision of Henry Ford, where everyone works on the assembly line.”
Moreover, in the eyes of Anouk van Oordt, open spaces are simply “violent” for humans. According to her, we have forgotten that the tools have become extremely mobile, that we can work from several places, with fluidity and openness. OOO specifically wants to free the company from these shackles, to make the office a place where creativity is expressed. The philosophy of this Brussels company is to support CEOs in their desire to change their internal philosophy, embodied by the space. “It’s a long road,” she explains on this show.
The interior layout of a company’s buildings and the design are not details. Anouk van Oordt, a Dutchwoman living in Brussels, is convinced of this. Trained as an interior designer, she is also a consultant on new ways of working. Twelve years ago, she created her company – OOO, say “triple O” – to support companies on the path to change by leading the way to an in-depth redevelopment of their living space. Because the form meets the content, the place meets the soul. Guest of our weekly program Trends Talk, which will be broadcast in a loop this weekend on Canal Z, Anouk van Oordt underlines the importance of work on interior design . Too often, have companies been too functional? “I think that’s still far too much the case, she agrees. But the covid crisis may have awakened the need to think about the meaning of the office and if we come back to it, what is the purpose, the meaning, the feeling, the type of office, its materials and the coherence of the whole. That there is a correspondence between what we say and what we do.”Often, companies are fitted out in the form of an open space with offices in onion rows and more than relative privacy. “Each receives an assigned position, in silos. Pierre or Henriette receive assigned places in blocks of four in open spaces, she regrets. We do not take into account what the person has to do during his day, we give him asks to carry out all its missions from this same workstation. It is a reflection of “Henry Ford’s old vision, where everyone works on the assembly line.” Moreover, in the eyes of Anouk van Oordt, open spaces are quite simply “violent” for humans. According to her, we have forgotten that the tools have become extremely mobile, that we can work from several places, with fluidity and openness. OOO specifically wants to free the company from these shackles, to make the office a place where creativity is expressed. The philosophy of this Brussels company is to support CEOs in their desire to change their internal philosophy, embodied by the space. “It’s a long road,” she explains on this show.
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