The winner of the Workplace Awards: Making the compact spaces work using timetables

The winner of the Workplace Awards competition’s Physical environment category was the cooperation between Rune & Berg and Postnord. This massive work environment project created headquarters for Postnord’s employees which are attractive and presentable and located next to great traffic connections in Pasila, Helsinki.

Although the new premises have 50% less square metres than the old ones, the flexible spaces enable an inspiring meeting place for all the employees. The central questions at the beginning of the spatial planning were how to fit all the 107 employees in the approximately 400 square-metre office premises.

The end result was a so-called workshop solution, which means that it must be possible to alternate the use of the premises, depending on the day and users. Instead of being multi-use spaces, the office spaces are multifunctional spaces that can be adapted to serve the needs of each user. On one day, the space may be dedicated to quiet working, whereas, on another day, the same space is used for brainstorming and team meetings.

The core of the space use is the booking system which the entire personnel is committed to use. All office spaces have a timetable, based on which the teams can select the suitable space for each day. At the same time, the teams can together decide which days are used for in-office work and when to work remotely.

Postnord’s employees do not have their own workstations or office rooms, and the supervisors lead the operations by their own example. They are called the ambassadors of change.