Participating in the What Can Design Do conference in Amsterdam, Ole Scheeren took time, along with several other creators, to discuss the impact of the working environment. Playfully dubbed, “Pod Sessions,” each talk takes place in De Vorm’s contemporary Pod chair, the PET plastic improving acoustics and signature Dutch felt providing comfort. In his Pod Session, Ole Scheeren, founder of Buro OS and lead designer on the CCTV Building in China, talks about the nature of a transitional workplace, the importance of collaboration, offices as a creative tool and the necessity of having a personal presence in a project. Having participated in projects across the world, Scheeren frequently moves to the site of his latest projects, as was the case with the CCTV Building.
“The challenge of the project itself was so extreme, we could’ve never made it remotely, without being there daily to understand the anxieties and worries that were being created. We had to learn to maneuver in an environment that was changing almost on a daily basis. Every few months even the building codes changed – everything was changing, so you had to constantly re-strategize and adapt everything you were doing to that environment, which was only possible through personal presence and personal involvement,” says Scheeren, regarding his decision to move to China for the duration of the project.
See his talk along with other Pod Sessions here.
