JWT Paris Office = ‘Digital Plant Station’

By Bob Marshall 

With cold beer in the fridge, plush couches in every room and TVs everywhere, advertising offices are generally envied by the cubicled masses. Imagine trying to reinvent creativity if you were daily trudging back and forth to one of the cold, generic prisons that Office Space depicted. Odds are, it wouldn’t go well.

But, even in advertising, there are places that stand out among the rest. Our case study today looks at the futuristic technology-meets-nature vibe of J. Walter Thompson’s offices in Paris.  Envisioned and constructed by famed French designer Mathieu Lehannuer, JWT Paris features caves made out of recycled paper pulp and hanging plants that play music when brushed against. A long, grassy walkway leads to a conference room with, what else, but a giant black rock in the middle of the room. No, it doesn’t look particularly welcoming, but, hey, it’s a giant rock. Haven’t you always wanted one of those?

Advertisement

JWT ups the ante by placing its chairman and director on the ground floor, closest to the doors. A silly symbolic gesture maybe, but one that probably helps prospective clients comfortably adjust to a world of tomorrow that makes Disney’s EPCOT center look passe. So, next time you consider buying office furniture or decorating your conference room, remember JWT Paris. You don’t want the French to win, do you? Check out two more office shots courtesy of design blog Dezeen after the jump.

Advertisement