A good office can be more than a workplace; it can become a playground that nurtures creativity. From Johnson Wax to LEGO, Apple, and Google, the world's leading companies have used space to reshape how their people think and collaborate. Four principles reveal the secret: high ceilings and color, hubs for chance encounters, nature-connected rest, and flexible meeting spaces. Through this piece, find a clear answer to the question of how space creates creativity.

Johnson Wax Headquarters Built in the 1930s, the Johnson Wax Headquarters embodies a value that good space never loses, no matter how much time passes. (Photo courtesy of Johnson Wax)

Our thinking comes from the spaces we inhabit

We spend a large part of our day inside buildings. Naturally, the spaces we occupy come to influence our very thoughts and behavior. You have probably experienced that sense of calm that settles over you when you stay in a fine hotel or relax on a park bench. So how much are office workers, who spend most of their day at the office, affected by the kind of environment they work in?

McDonald's headquarters Office design should be the work of capturing a company's unchanging philosophy. (Photo courtesy of McDonald's)

This is precisely why world-leading companies like Johnson Wax and McDonald's invest so heavily in office design. Creativity, in particular, is deeply tied to the 'space' we inhabit. Where you are shapes everything from the small emotions you feel to, ultimately, your productivity at work. Spaces that stimulate creativity transform people's thoughts and behavior through an invisible force.

So what, specifically, should an office that boosts 'creativity' look like? The key lies in drawing out natural collaboration. People from different teams should be able to move freely around the office and interact, and in that process 'creative incidents' should emerge as they connect ideas in new ways. Achieving this calls for strategic design that goes beyond simply changing a building's exterior or a few interior elements.

Today we want to introduce a few of the principles that SPACEBASE considers when designing offices that unlock a team's creativity. Drawing on examples from a range of companies, let's explore together which elements might be worth applying to your own workplace.

Principle 1. Make use of high ceilings and a variety of colors

Have you ever heard that 'people become more creative in spaces with high ceilings'? This has actually been proven by scientific research. High ceilings foster open-minded perception and a sense of psychological stability, and by encouraging abstract thinking they create an environment favorable to creativity. On top of this, using a variety of colors is another way to spark creativity. By choosing colors that energize a space without undermining its purpose, you can create an atmosphere where free, unconstrained discussion can take place.

Case 1. LEGO Campus: A Playground for Creative Exploration

Photo courtesy of LEGO

LEGO designed the 'LEGO Campus' in Denmark as its new global headquarters. With a slogan like 'Into the world of infinite creativity,' LEGO is known as a company genuinely devoted to creativity, both inside and out. Through high ceilings and a rich sense of color, it wove LEGO's defining keywords of 'play' and 'creativity' into the office space.

A LEGO Group representative describes the LEGO Campus this way. "The LEGO Campus is a space for thinking, imagining, building, and developing. We created it imagining it as a playground for creative exploration."

Photo courtesy of LEGO

Colors reminiscent of LEGO, and the openness of high ceilings

Photo courtesy of LEGO

Looking at the exterior, the LEGO-inspired design and colors immediately stand out. The architects drew inspiration from the modular, interlocking nature of LEGO bricks. Bold primary colors that pop and the form of giant LEGO bricks create an exterior that is both distinctive and eye-catching. This is a design unique to the LEGO brand, and it adds an atmosphere where people can imagine freely.

Photo courtesy of LEGO

The varied colors are used inside the building as well. The LEGO Campus is made up of eight independent spaces, all connected around a central atrium. Work areas, rest areas, and shared amenities are distributed throughout.

LEGO distinguished these eight spaces with different colors and filled them with a rich palette tailored to people's interests. The various colors also signal their own meaning and role. For example, a vivid bright-green spiral staircase serves to connect each floor.

The building also rises across five floors, with high ceilings averaging 2.7 to 3.2 meters. One space even reaches a ceiling height of 5.3 meters. Together with the open sightlines, this adds a sense of spaciousness and helps people's thinking expand in three dimensions.

Principle 2. Create hub spaces where people can run into each other, often and by chance

As a global company, LEGO needed a mechanism that would let employees of diverse origins and backgrounds from around the world collaborate and mingle. To this end, it worked with anthropologists to explore office design solutions that would activate interaction among employees. The result was the shared spaces known as the 'stairwell space' and the 'People House.'

Chance encounters, a community that works together

Photo courtesy of LEGO

Photo courtesy of LEGO

The stairwell space becomes an element where employees can run into one another by chance as they move between departments and buildings. The People House, meanwhile, was built so people can network and have fun together regardless of working hours, offering spaces for a variety of purposes, from fitness to a cinema and a kitchen. It feels almost like a single 'village' of several houses gathered inside the headquarters. These spatial qualities help chance encounters and spontaneous collaboration happen more effectively.

This is the 'serendipitous encounter effect,' a principle that has also been scientifically proven. It deliberately leads employees' daily paths to overlap, prompting small conversations and the spontaneous exchange of ideas. The idea is that when you provide spaces and circulation designed for natural encounters, such as shared lounges, hallways, and stairs, creative ideas and innovative collaboration emerge more frequently.

Plus tip: Intentional encounters lead to meaningful collaboration

SPACEBASE, too, designs office spaces with great care to weave in places for 'serendipitous encounters.' We make particular use of lounge spaces that many different employees pass through, prompting those moments of natural encounter. To make it easy to strike up a conversation at any time, we arrange large tables together with chairs. The aim is to turn a fleeting meeting place into a natural spark for further collaboration.

In this way, SPACEBASE builds devices into its office spaces where small conversations and natural encounters lead to the spontaneous exchange of ideas and, in turn, effective work outcomes.

*"We deliberately create spaces where employees can run into and brush past one another. The reason is that a fleeting meeting place can become a natural spark for further collaboration. Beyond dedicated collaboration areas like work spaces and meeting rooms, we believe that the touches that come from a comfortable, natural mood can create great synergy in the work itself."* _Designer Do Geun-hee (SPACEBASE)

Principle 3. Create a 'green zone' that connects with nature

The human brain activates different regions when we move and when we rest. We can use it far more efficiently when each region is properly activated through periodic rest. That is why it matters to gaze out the window for a moment between tasks, letting your mind drift or refreshing your focus. In these moments, natural elements like forests and trees effectively ease stress and play a major role in turning rest into creative inspiration.

Photo courtesy of Foster + Partners

Case 2. Apple Park: The Effect of Rest and Reflection Enjoyed in Nature

Steve Jobs, who built Apple, also understood that rest and nature have a profound impact on creativity. As he developed Apple's new headquarters, 'Apple Park,' he *"asked for a landscaped environment that would give employees the chance to rest and reflect"*. Valuing the connection with nature, he created spaces where employees could look out at nature and refresh their thinking at any time. Eighty percent of the entire site is given over to greenery, and more than 9,000 trees and natural ecosystems were established throughout.

Wide passages fitted with large curved glass panels were also designed so people could rest while gazing out at the nature and plants on every side. Apple's continued path of relentless technological innovation, even after his passing, invites us to think once more about the relationship between the work environment and creativity.

Photo courtesy of Wallpaper

Principle 4. Create practical meeting spaces in a variety of styles

There was a time, centered on Silicon Valley startups, when placing bean bags or swings in meeting rooms became a trend. As symbols of freedom and comfort, they even appeared in the office spaces of global IT companies. But since doing actual work on top of them proved quite uncomfortable, there were episodes where they were swapped back out for chairs and tables. The meaning of this trial and error was clear. The 'meeting room,' where countless decisions are made, must also become a space unlike the rigid atmosphere of the past, it suggested.

Photo courtesy of Google

Case 3. Google Bay View Campus: Office Design That Embraces Diverse Ways of Working

Google's new headquarters, the 'Bay View Campus,' was designed with both comfort and practicality in mind. As the first headquarters Google built itself, the care taken for its people comes through in fine detail. For employees who work in many different ways, it was conceived around the direction of 'designing flexible spaces that can suit any way of working.'

Photo courtesy of Google

Photo courtesy of Google

At the Google Bay View Campus, in place of formal meeting rooms, there are meeting spaces with a comfortable atmosphere and practical seating. A range of meeting spaces is provided, from gatherings of a few people to impromptu meetings of ten, employee meetings of more than 2,000 people, and even remote meetings. Disassemblable desks are in place so people can adjust the layout themselves and use the space for a variety of purposes. As a result, employees can carry on conversation and collaboration in a free and relaxed atmosphere.

Design elements that make use of the walls and ceilings also stand out. Walls dressed in various colors and concepts do more than decorate the space; they act as elements that inspire employees. By installing whiteboards and placing floor-to-ceiling windows that let natural light pour in, the result is an office that is both practical and rich in style.

Plus tip: Practicality and flexibility lead to creative ideas

In CLO's office, which we worked on together, you can also see meeting spaces designed with the importance of diversity and flexibility in mind. A range of meeting and work spaces coexist here, from single-person seats for individual immersion and focus to open meeting rooms for free communication. Throughout the meeting rooms, we installed walls you can write on directly, so even ideas that strike on the spur of the moment can be jotted down right away.

This is because of SPACEBASE's belief that innovative ideas come from natural, casual conversation rather than stiff, formal meetings. In this way, SPACEBASE is building better work environments for companies' people through creative office design where immersion, rest, and exchange happen all at once.

When it comes to building a creative organization and company culture, 'space' wields more power than you might think. And that kind of change becomes possible only when you see the office not simply as a place to work, but as a 'meeting ground' where new connections and communication take place. Today's post looked at space design that unlocks a team's creativity, centered on the four principles below.

High ceilings and colorful design broaden the scope of thinking, while hub spaces for chance encounters can give rise to new collaboration. Sometimes gazing at plants recharges your energy, and meeting spaces where opinions can be shared comfortably and freely become the ground on which ideas grow.

Beyond these, SPACEBASE continues to create office designs optimized to each company's character, grounded in strategic planning that considers a wide range of elements. Look forward to the next post on the SPACEBASE blog, telling the story of the office through a fresh perspective you may never have considered before!

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Awaken your team's potential with 'creative office design,' and let's think it through together with SPACEBASE!

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