The rejection of Bürolandschaft in Continental Europe more or less corresponded with the Economic crisis of 1973 triggered by increases in energy costs. Deep expanses of air-conditioned and artificially lit office space seemed less sustainable and the difficulty some found in adapting to open office environments resulted in its fall from fashion.

The increasing involvement of the employee in corporate decision-making resulted in workers councils that became influential in the design of the working environment. Countries such as Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands adopted regulations that governed space standards per employee and demanded access to views, daylight and openable windows. Personal control of the environment was seen to be a very important factor in the well being of the worker. As office workers became more enfranchised this control extended to the actual organisation and ownership of companies, many opting to give their employees the opportunity to become stakeholders.

The result of this development is the model that remains dominant today for Continental European offices. New office buildings follow the general pattern of narrow buildings of cellular offices arranged along a central corridor. The ambition for each employee to work in their own office or amongst a small group was the new formula that seemed to contradict all the claims of Bürolandschaft. European companies are generally owner-occupiers and their buildings are purpose built for their needs. The result of well meaning but inflexible regulations is that many office environments do not express the culture of their organisations in a positive and integrated way and many monotonous cellular offices are the result.

Recent attempts to create a more public realm in the European office have taken the form of cellular offices with public ‘streets’ with cafes and relaxation areas such as the Stockholm SAS building by Niels Torp of 1988. The ‘combi-office’ invented by the Swedish practice Tengbom combines cellular offices on the exterior of a building with a common space for employees and services in the centre.

There is now also a strong ecological and sustainability agenda in the production of new office buildings on the continent, as an extension of the socially responsible ethos of the stakeholder model.

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