How Marseille is Innovating the Meaning of "Workspace"

La Tour Marseillaise is Marseille’s second tallest building and is being built for the city’s administrative departments, who will move in next year. It’s a huge project that is intended to redefine Marseille as a city that is at the cutting edge of modernity. The design has incorporated every detail of current thinking on what makes a good workspace.

When guests walk into the building, they will have the opportunity to take a virtual tour to find the department and information they need. All the city’s departmental records will be archived onto the Cloud, so the office will be paperless. About half of the desks will be hot-desks, so people can choose where and with whom they work each day, changing their work environment each time.

There will be a Work Café where people can work in groups and meeting rooms for those needing private office space. People with a need for silence can use noise-reducing headphones. Meetings can also take place on high-backed sofas that can be pulled together to create a little work bubble, where the material omits any outside noise.

The quantity and quality of office lighting are really important. If the light gets too weak, people’s bodies begin to slow down, making them feel sluggish. La Tour Marseillaise will have floor to ceiling windows and lighting systems that will always ensure people have enough artificial light to work well.

The building has views over the Mediterranean coast and the city. The skyscraper has a green roof and plants will be incorporated into its design—research shows that people who have access to views and green space will feel much happier in their workspace and more productive than those who don’t.

The building will be operational by Summer 2018…now you just need to get a job there.