Finnish designer Joanna Laajisto has completed an office in Helsinki for service design company Fjord, featuring spaces for casual meetings and soft furnishings that offer a homely feel.

Having outgrown its current Helsinki studio, Fjord asked Laajisto's studio to help create a new workplace that reflects its brand and provides a space where employees from around the world can feel comfortable.
Despite a lot of the company's work focusing on digital services and technology, Laajisto was determined to provide an environment with a welcoming and friendly feel, where all necessary technology is concealed.

"Elegant, unconventional and human ? those were the starting points of our design process," said Laajisto, whose other projects in the Finnish capital include a restaurant featuring corrugated metal walls and marble furniture. "This is an office primarily made for employees to feel at home, and the wow factor for outsiders comes from what the space feels like, not merely from its looks," she said.

To achieve the warm and tactile effect demanded in the brief, Laajisto used natural materials throughout the 1,000-square-metre space, including oak flooring, sisal carpets and linen curtains. These are accompanied by plenty of plants.
Several kitchens and lounge areas contribute to the domestic feel of the studio. These spaces allow staff to hold informal meetings or relax, eat and chat in a comfortable and casually furnished setting.

The rooms are separa...