An international idea contest was held for Tallinn’s new City Hall in Estonia and the best concept was presented by the Bjarke Ingels Group from Denmark together with Adams Kara Taylor of the UK.

The purpose of the international idea contest was to find the best architectural solution for the new administrative building of the city government that will be situated on a 35,000 m2 plot near the Linnahall building. The contest for the new city was met with a great interest, 81 architects and their teams were willing to present an entry. Of those, the international jury chose the best 9 to shortlist as finalists into the second phase of the competition. By May 15 the finalists handed in their final solutions. The international jury’s decision to award BIG’s entry first place in the competition was unanimous and was presided by the vice mayor Taavi Aas.

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The typical office desk is usually characterised as a simple and formal piece of office furniture. Kuubo takes an innovative approach to the humble office desk, it was created by the Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa for the Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra. The desk aims to be stylish and functional by providing elegantly hidden extra storage space, something many offices are in dire need of.

Fukasawa has designed a versatile work surface that gives users different  options that go against this trend by reducing everything to the bare essentials. It can be considered a team centre, functioning as a temporary workstation, conference and meeting table, a manager’s desk with space for clients etc..

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Made of wood and natural bristles, ‘Pratonzolo’ is a stylish desk organiser that adds a touch of nature into your office. The soft bristles which appear as artificial grass do the function of holding small objects such as pencils, pens and business cards. It was designed by Italian product designer Max Battaglia of ‘Givingshape’ design studio in collaboration with Matteo Mocchi of ‘BBMds’ design studio for ‘Stylemylife’, a young Italian start up company.

[via the environment team]

I’m sure many of us will appreciate how difficult sitting in an office chair all day can be, not only psychologically but also from a fitness perspective.  The Fit@Work fitness chair concept aims to allow people to get a workout right from their office desk, in an attempt to increase fitness and decrease some of the back and neck problems which sitting at a desk all day can cause.  The ergonomically designed chair is a fully functioning stationary fitness center in itself which allows users to perform a number of gym-like exercises, while also allowing them to sit the day away in comfort and style. The question is, do you really want to be sweaty at work? Doesn’t seem too practical if you ask me!

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The Volna office desk by Nüvist is possibly one of the most beautiful pieces of office furniture I’ve seen for a while. The striking design is both elegant and stylish, however I wonder how functional it would be as one’s daily  desk for work. Nevertheless this is definitely one office desk that I’d want!

It was very important to  create soft and serene experience in the tangible and the visual sense for this type of table design. The new technologies  and the modern materials were the main ingredients for the creation and these provide us to design an unbroken continious form. In this way, Volna Table has met both the functionality and a unique elegance look and it has been shaped  like a wave and features an incessant flow.

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Tetra Shed is an innovative home office designed to use up to six modules to create extra space, it is perfect for anyone looking for a garden office that will allow them to work from home without the distractions of the home itself.

The exterior can be custom painted or finished with copper, zinc, corten steel, or marine plywood, while the interior can be finished with LED lights and birch-faced plywood or plasterboard.  The  Tetra Shed was designed David Ajasa-Adekunle and is likely to be available in the UK January 2012.

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This busy jungle  of vegetation adorns the windows of the fashion company Replay’s Barcelona boutique located at Passeig de Gràcia.  This quite spectacular scene was created by the Landscape architects Vertical Garden Design and measures at just above 100 meters squared. In the storefront location, the two storey wall is set in a dramatic and playful environment with waterfalls, sculptures and contrasting materials.

As a great place to study nature’s own vertical gardens, the waterfalls were a natural starting point for the plant design. Looking closer to the environment around a waterfall, growing conditions change with linear patterns of fissures and cracks in the underlying exposed rock, or the rapidly decreasing moisture already small steps away from the immediate vicinity of the falling water. In such a manner, like the erratic and geometric cracking of an eroding rock, groups and strings of plants were laid out in an organic pattern.

The Metropol Parasol is an outstanding architectural piece designed by the Berlin based J.Mayer H. Architects. They are known for their contemporary urban designs that push boundaries, this piece is no exception and the outcome is simply breathtaking. According to them they aim to work “at the intersection of architecture, communications and new technology.”

The site has been under development for the last 6 years, and so the completion of the Metropol Parasol signifies an important achievement for the city of Seville. The mesmerising timber and steel structure is around 18,000 square metres in size and occupies Seville’s Plaza de la Encarnacion. The Metropol Parasol is a multipurpose area, encompassing a farmers market, archaeological museum, bars and restaurants to name but a few. That said, perhaps the most enticing feature is the panoramic views from on top its undulating roof top.

At eOffice we aim to provide some of the best office solutions worldwide, so if you are looking for trendy office spaces or virtual office services in Seville or any other Spanish city please click here for more information.

[Via WeHeart]

NeochaEDGE was been recently commissioned by Nike to create a mural in the front lobby area of their new Shanghai office space in China. The artwork was created by the collective members Elephant and Momo who are based in Shanghai. The artwork features a variety of Nike products and equipment, but also funky and fun monster characters.

The inspiration for the piece came from imagery one might find in the bedrooms and closets of Nike fans and sneaker-heads around the world. The making-of video was produced by the NeochaEDGE film team and shows the making of this great mural which undoubtedly improves this Shanghai office space.

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It’s rare to see a clean gym floor ridden of sneaker marks, but the Origin Workstation by Mirato avoids these pesky streaks. This is because the design firm Mirato constructed this office desk with a twist to bring back the days of the gym class.

The office desk is made from a 100% reclaimed gym floor. The floors are even given a polished look, after receiving a ton of abuse from sneakers running scraping the surface daily, for that authentic feel. At 4x 10 this is a great size that can easily fit four people without feeling crowded. Mirato also promises that a wiring containment can be configured into the table, which means tangled cables will not be an issue for users of the Origin Workstation.

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