Somewhat of an Office

Our observation of the urban context surrounding the Hardturm Parkhaus reveals a profound detachment between existing workspaces and the public. While corporate office spaces have been explored repeatedly by designers to create optimal productive environments, they remain exclusive to desk-based immaterial labor.

This dominant typology systematically overlooks other forms of activity, notably desk-less jobs, reproductive labor and any activity unconsidered by the criteria of “productivity”. Simultaneously, we identify a paradox, the massive scale of discarded office materials juxtaposed against the amount of vacant office and commercial property, and a scarcity of accessible space for the general public.

To bridge this gap, we propose the "Communal Spare Room." In the domestic sphere, the spare room is an undefined luxury. It is a host for the library, the hobby room, the playroom, the guest room, an unprogrammed space of infinite possibility.

By making this traditionally private asset a public one, we aim to offer the comfort and agency of the home combined with the resources and infrastructure of the workplace, whilst stripping it of the expectation of productivity.

The architectural intervention of placing this space in the parking lot utilizes its existing structural backbone to facilitate this shift. We utilize the central pillars as "Utility Nodes," from which flexible infrastructures can unfold. These elements, composed of rigid semi-transparent partitions and textile skins, allow the space to expand and contract providing spatial separation whilst maintaining a maximum of natural light and ventilation.

This project challenges the binary of work and leisure. It creates a rolling set of timeframes where the space is defined not by a rigid program, but by the choices, needs and negotiation of its users. Whether for transients passing through during a commute or residents requiring space for collective activities, the Communal Spare Room accepts that while the office is entangled with our corporate imaginaries, its physical components can be diverted.

The intention is to provide for activities outside of traditional economic constructs, offering a space where one can simply be, without the intent to create, despite having the infrastructure to do so.

Autumn 2025

Project by: Sayoko Aebersold, Mika Lavine, Anna Maerean, Kemmett Saunders-Nazareth

Teaching team: Anna Puigjaner, Dafni Retzepi, Ethel Baraona Pohl, Lisa Maillard, Luis Úrculo, Pol Esteve Castelló, He Shen

Images: Luís Úrculo