Many offices do not have a design problem. They have a worldview problem. They were built for stability – in an era that has ceased to be stable. Technologies are changing faster than organisations can react. Systems are beginning to structure us. And the finished space itself becomes the problem. What do organisations need now? Not monuments. Not perfect concepts. But spaces that remain in a state of becoming – and it is precisely in this that they reveal their relevance. An essay by Raphael Gielgen, trend scout at Vitra – and an invitation to rethink the office. Welcome to the beta era.

THE CITY OF THE FUTURE Five days. Three cities. A shift in perspective. Chicago. Boston. New York. Three different states – and yet part of the same movement. What remains is a changed understanding of the city. Chicago shows just...

Raphael Gielgen argues that the world has entered a permanent ‘beta state’ – a state of constant change in which traditional planning and certainty no longer apply. The real disruption of our time is not technological, but cognitive: organisations fail not because of a lack of knowledge, but because their mental models and thought patterns were built for a stable world that no longer exists. Action today takes place in the unknown – decisions are no longer conclusions, but transitions. For the property sector in particular, this represents a paradigm shift: buildings must no longer merely be physically robust, but must also enable organisational adaptability. His text concludes with a call not to avoid uncertainty, but to work with it – and to consistently question one’s own basic assumptions.

This idea from Raphael Gielgen was one of the exciting impulses of CON:Fusion. For the second time, we have created a space with CON:Fusion that deliberately functions differently from classic events. No rigid programme, no long lectures – just what...

Feldberg Capital had the space – we had the idea: together with Graef and vitra, we created a showroom that is more than just a showroom. A multifunctional space in an iconic industrial setting: high ceilings, exposed brick walls, historic...

To answer this question, we have developed a new format in collaboration with Nicolas Berggruen Holdings, AusserGewöhnlich Berlin and Vitra: CON:FUSION learning lounge work`n space. CON:FUSION brings together knowledgeable and influential people to develop new approaches and solutions for making...

In the middle of the Arabian desert, some of the world’s most ambitious construction and infrastructure projects are currently underway as part of Saudi Vision 2030. The best known of these is undoubtedly NEOM, with individual projects such as The...

For six days, we traveled back and forth between Tokyo, Kamakura, Kyoto, and Gifu on foot, by Shinkansen, and various other modes of transportation. We had great conversations, ate fantastic food, saw spectacular architecture, visited co-working start-ups and recycling initiatives,...

What a trip: 2.5 days of maximum input on our Vitra Learning Journey between Zurich, Basel and Weil am Rhein. We kicked things off at the legendary Vitra Campus Summer Party, where we finally got to meet Bjarne Ingels. The...