Since 2017, Norwegian manufacturer reMarkable has made modest but impressive inroads into practical, sustainable technology. The company’s reMarkable 2 tablet is one of our firm favourites, an e-ink device that really does remove distractions and streamline your writing style.
reMarkable’s headquarters: a space for focus and collaboration
When it came to shaping the firm’s new office in Oslo’s Majorstuen neighbourhood, it was important to convey a sense of calming, analogue warmth. ‘We drew inspiration from what we know best: starting with a blank sheet of paper,’ says Magnus Haug Wanberg, founder and executive chairman of reMarkable. ‘We wanted to create a unique space for collaborative and individual focus – where better thinking always takes centre stage.’
Created with Oslo-based Grape Architects, the new workspace is an interior refurb across eight floors of an existing office building, totalling over 19,000 sq m. That means plenty of space for break-out areas, special ‘focus zones’ and even an area inspired by a Japanese Zen garden.
The principal space is dubbed the ‘campus library’, a multipurpose communal area with room for up to 550 people set beneath 7m ceilings, art installations, reading nooks, and lamplit desks. A spiral staircase leads up to a gallery, all set beneath a vaulted ceiling.
Certain design elements recur, such as the rounded arches that lead from one area into another, enhancing a sense of discovery, mystery and privacy. In total, the new offices have space for up to 1,000 employees, with dedicated breakout rooms on each floor as well as workshop and conference facilities.
On the eighth floor, there’s a 215 sq m communal roof garden, all part of an approach that aims to find a sweet spot for every employee. ‘Some people gravitate toward open spaces, while others prefer more private settings,’ says reMarkable’s CEO, Phil Hess. ‘We’re committed to inclusivity and strive to ensure that our campus caters to the needs of all our employees.’
This extends to a weekly ‘Zen’ session, a completely meeting-free morning, with a dedicated ‘Zen Garden’ space, a place where conventional monitors are banished (but not, of course, reMarkable’s own paper-like tablets) and the carpet patterns evoke raked sand.
Scattered throughout the building are a series of ‘Rooms to Think’, evoking spaces such as a train compartment, a beach, a cabin, and even outer space. ‘Just as we offer products free from distractions to enable true focus, our headquarters is designed to do the same,’ says Hess.
