Digitalisation is both an opportunity and a challenge. Productivity increases are being sought everywhere, but in some places there is still uncertainty as to how the transformation process with new digital and agile workplaces can be successfully organised. In this revolutionary phase of change, our customers - whether SMEs or large corporations - need a coherent concept for their office working environment that fulfils the company-specific requirements 1:1 in the very long term. Offices whose infrastructure reflects the operational workflow and are flexible enough to allow structural changes to be made at short notice with the same furniture. This kind of autonomy is a key characteristic of companies that practise change as a constant and necessary development process.  

In our 2,500 square metre LAB-3 at the second Inwerk location near Frankfurt, we showcase how we design agile structures with maximally variable furnishing solutions. LAB-3 sees itself as the ‘Home of New Work’, which we present to our corporate customers and trade visitors as a world of experience and use for our own office operations. It is the first innovation lab in the office furniture industry. The location in rural Biebertal with a view of medieval castles was deliberately chosen because ideas sprout better away from the hustle and bustle of the city.   
 
A model for agile structures and work concepts
 In LAB-3, we combine modular room-in-room systems with space-organising furniture systems and high-performance acoustic solutions as micro-architecture in the open space. They form the framework for an open ecosystem in which different working styles are possible and freely selectable, for example the demand-orientated concept of activity-based working. Communication-intensive teamwork and concentrated individual work function in close proximity without disturbing each other. In LAB-3, which is furnished exclusively with our own products, we practise all of this ourselves - and in a way that is immediately comprehensible to customers and interested parties - in line with our guiding principle of ‘Shaping flexibility’.  
 

Space-efficient freedom of design and change in an open-plan space
 Space-efficient freedom of design and change in an open-plan spaceLAB-3 consists of 2,500 square metres of serially produced modular office space, a fascinating feature of this technology and size. The second exclusive feature is that the building has no conventional internal walls. This results in a space efficiency that is hard to beat, and yet LAB-3 has a clearly differentiated infrastructure. This is configured solely by the arrangement of the furniture, with our multi-functional, modular Masterbox® furniture system and the MasterPod® room systems derived from it playing a key role.  Although some people still work in traditional cubicle offices, their relatively large footprint and lack of flexibility are making them less and less popular. Above all, however, because agile working environments evolve in open, i.e. flexible, structures such as those created by LAB-3 par excellence. The trend is clearly towards open space and is not limited to large or 'hip' companies, as a trend analysis by the Munich Institute for Social Science Research (ISF) shows.1  

LAB-3 embodies the vibrant ecosystem of open space - transparent and communicative. And despite all the openness and flexibility, every employee has access to room systems in various sizes and configurations as retreats for concentrated individual work, as well as teamwork-oriented zones that also take into account the need for privacy.  
 The Masterbox® office furniture system developed by Inwerk and the MasterPod® room systems are completely self-contained, i.e. they are not connected to the building structure and can therefore be assembled quickly and repositioned just as easily. They also offer virtually unlimited flexibility in terms of their structure, as they can be reconfigured at any time without tools (!) in just a few simple steps.  

This freedom offers many long-term conversion options in the sense of 'form follows different functions'. At the same time, it ensures the long-term value of the property. In commercial buildings, for example, this applies when there is a change of tenant, as the existing space can be reorganised at short notice according to the wishes of the new tenant, without the need for conventional alterations. This flexibility is just as economically advantageous for the long-term fit-out of coworking spaces, allowing tenant changes and changing space requirements to be managed in a cost-effective manner.

Our new office concept disproves the notion that modular systems have to be limited to sober functionality. With its aesthetic appeal, Masterbox® provides an architecturally stylish framework that has been highly acclaimed by experts. The visually and technically unique furniture system has been awarded the Red Dot Award and the German Design Award. It transforms the office into a vibrant living environment in which employees feel at home and which identifies a company as an attractive employer.   

Companies today are facing the challenges of digital transformation, which is changing the way they work and do business. As a developer of office furniture and furniture technologies, we want to support our customers with strategically appropriate, long-term furnishing solutions. This requires unusual solutions that no one would have thought of a few years ago. And because some creative ideas only come about through rethinking, we often go down unusual paths. We put our heart and soul into tinkering at our workbenches and in our creative spaces, also together with international partners. We are only satisfied when we have a product that has what it takes to set market standards in terms of functionality, ergonomics and handling.  

In LAB-3, we test the innovative performance of all our developments directly at our workstations under authentic conditions. At the same time, we give all visitors the opportunity to get their own impression of the practicality of our products, to feel with all their senses what it is like to work with them, in them, on them. We see LAB-3 as a community for employees and customers, where ideas can be developed, shaped and, if necessary, registered. 

Our credo is: Inwerk products must offer new benefits and also have the visual appeal to inspire customers. Behind this is our claim to only launch products that represent a new technological quality and help to solve requirements - functionally, ergonomically, in terms of design and, last but not least, economically. In the past, we have brought some unique office furniture to the market. For this we have been awarded the Steel Innovation Award and recognised by Ranga Yogeshwar as the innovation leader among German SMEs.