What A Workplace Should Look Like

Who wouldn’t want to work here? The New York headquarters of JWT (the ad agency formerly known as J Walter Thompson), serves as an inspiration to anyone working in any field – not just advertising. Picture yourself in this workplace environment. Are you a lawyer? An accountant? An insurance adjuster? You don’t have to be a copywriter to know that working in a lively environment like this would be a conduit to a more inspired and happy workday.

These photos, taken by Eric Laignel, are from this month’s issue of Interior Design Magazine. The space was created by designer, Clive Wilkinson, an Interior Design Hall of Fame member known for media work. As the article states: “He thought of these moments not as separate 30-second spots but rather as elements tied together in an experiential ?ºber-narrative‚Äîlike so many twigs on a tree. And Clive Wilkinson Architects tapped into his tree theme to drive design solutions. “It’s a metaphor for storytelling, but we also extended it as an organizing form and connective tissue between the branches of the agency,” Wilkinson explains.“

The reception area at JWT.

All elevator lobbies feature custom vinyl wall covering, an aluminum ceiling grid, waxed concrete flooring, and Richard Shemtov chairs.

An Ideation Room is enclosed by two layers of material, cutout vinyl-polyester stitched to a heavy-gauge clear vinyl backing.

The purpose of rooms like this is to get together and think. To brainstorm. To come up with new ideas. So much better than a gray conference room.

But even the conference rooms at JWT have sex appeal.

The creative department's 18-foot ceiling allows for mezzanine meeting spaces.

Additional meeting rooms are integrated into the elevator lobbies.

Lunch anyone? In the cafeteria, which also serves as an entertainment space, an LED fixture is set into the bar.

You can read the rest of the article, and see lots more photos, here. Or go to your newsstand and buy the hard copy.

To my mind, it doesn’t matter what you do for a living, the whole point of living, in general, is to be happy. Not just at the end of the day – but throught out the day.

Too many of us spend our days earning a paycheck, as opposed to pursuing our avocation. But while our work may be boring, our work environment doesn’t have to be. It really doesn’t take that much effort to create a better, more lively workspace. You just need to understand that it’s important.

After all, that’s what life is really all about – to be happy. We should all be working in a space that makes us smile. Don’t you agree?