The studio still carries the buzz of an active practice, but it no longer feels like everything is happening in one undifferentiated field.
A creative studio floor that moves with the rhythm of the day—focus, sessions, decompression—so full calendars feel coherent instead of draining.
In a converted industrial floor in Zurich, a team of designers and strategists wanted a studio where they could sustain deep work, welcome clients into a clearly held space, and decompress between intense sessions.
Before this project, the space swung between two extremes: loud, overlit, and scattered on busy days; flat and tired at the end of long stretches. There was no clear shift between heads-down work, collaboration, and decompression, so days often ended with a sense of being wired and drained at the same time.
Together with the architect, workplace strategist, and installer, we reshaped the space into three working chapters: deep focus, shared sessions, and decompression. Each with its own sensory profile.
The result is a studio that feels quietly charged: a place where a high-intensity practice can stay more often in the alive band between burnout and the numbness of a generic open-plan office.
Before - After
Deep Focus
Early in the day and during planned focus blocks, tunable-white light leans cooler over desks and softer toward the periphery. Acoustic panels and carefully positioned plants absorb echo so speech drops quickly. Air is kept fresh without noticeable drafts. Materials at the workstations feel stable and neutral, supporting long stretches of concentrated work without the visual and sensory noise of an event space. Over the course of the day, the lighting follows a gentle circadian curve in colour and intensity, so bodies and screens are not fighting the time on the clock.
Morning
Midday
Late afternoon
Session Mode
When the team moves into client sessions or internal reviews, they use the newly installed meeting pod. The light inside the meeting pod broadens and warms, while desk zones remain calmer. Sound is absorbed inside the pod, so energy does not spill across the whole floor. Airflow and temperature are tuned for groups inside the pod.
Decompression
Between intense blocks and at the end of the day, the studio drops into a softer, warmer band. Light shifts toward lower, more directional sources over soft seating and side tables; background sound narrows to quieter areas, and a very subtle change in scent and air movement signals that the pace has changed. Softer textiles and warmer surfaces invite people to the "green zone".
How it feels to work there now
Since the new rhythm was introduced, the team reports longer stretches of uninterrupted focus and fewer "I need to get out of here" moments on heavy days. The studio still carries the buzz of an active practice, but it no longer feels like everything is happening in one undifferentiated field.
Transitions into client sessions are clearer and calmer. After sessions, the decompression chapter gives the team somewhere to land before moving into the next demand.
Several people noticed that the studio now tracks more closely with how their bodies move through the day. Mornings feel clearer, mid-afternoon slumps are less pronounced, and late sessions no longer come with the same wired, overlit feeling. In feedback rounds, the atmosphere is often described as "carrying" them into the later hours instead of asking them to push through against their own circadian rhythm.
New hires describe the atmosphere as "quietly charged" rather than busy, and visitors often comment that the studio feels focused without being tense. For the leadership team, the space has become a practical tool for keeping their people closer to the alive band during weeks that would otherwise push them toward burnout or numbness.
We always work across all sensory levers, tuned for gradience instead of jumps
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Light: A zoned DALI-2+ scheme ties workzones, the meeting pod and decompression areas into one system. Tunable-white luminaires and indirect light balance screens, pinboards, and faces differently in each chapter, avoiding both flat office light and theatrical contrast.
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Sound: Acoustic panels, plants, and furniture are placed to catch the specific reflections of the space, creating pockets of quiet at desks and controlled liveliness in collaboration zones. The result is a studio where energy can rise without turning into constant noise.
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Scent: A very subtle, neutral base scent is present only in shared areas and in the decompression zone, never at focus desks. It is tuned to stay below the level of "noticed" and to sit comfortably alongside coffee, paper, and fresh air
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Touch: Work surfaces remain smooth and neutral for focus, while key collaboration points and decompression areas use warmer materials and softer textiles. This tactile gradient supports the different mental states of each chapter without resorting to separate rooms.
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Air: Airflow has been redirected to avoid drafts on seated people and to respond to occupancy, CO2, and time of day. The studio now holds a more even thermal field, so people are less likely to feel foggy or restless halfway through long work blocks or workshops.
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Interaction: Wall controls expose a small set of clearly named chapters instead of technical scenes, and team leads have a minimal app view for adjustments. Behind that, the system automates gradual transitions between chapters so the studio rarely needs active "driving" during the day.
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Key decisions that build trust over time:
To make the new rhythm robust, we composed a multidisciplinary team with the architect, workplace strategist, acoustic consultant, biophilic consultant and installer. Our role was to lead the team, define the chapters, atmosphere standards, and system behaviour, and to ensure that each technical decision supported those outcomes over time.
Key decisions that build trust for the organisation:
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Open backbone: DALI-2+ for all key luminaires on a KNX-based system, with sensors and interfaces on open standards rather than proprietary gateways.
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Orchestration layer: Our internally developed orchestration layer listens to all room sensors, applies our chapter rules and learning model, and coordinates the KNX actuators. It keeps light, air, and other systems moving in gradients so the atmosphere stays in the right band without guests or teams having to drive scenes manually.
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Clear zoning: Desks, collaboration areas, and decompression zones are each mapped to specific lighting and control groups, so changes can be made without affecting the whole floor.
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Meeting Pod Strategy: "Initial tests with open zones proved too disruptive for deep focus work. In partnership with leadership, we integrated an acoustic meeting pod to contain high-energy collaboration. This preserves the quiet integrity of the focus zones without stifling debate."
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Commissioning and documentation: A commissioning script and validation checklist were provided and used on site, with scene and chapter logic fully documented for facilities and IT.
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Future adaptations: The system is prepared for adding sensors, desks, or zones as the team evolves, without rewriting the entire control logic.
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