Table football. Fresh fruit. Barista coffee. Lounge furniture. Perhaps a little greenery, too. Over the past few years, many offices have become better at looking and feeling more like home. But the more interesting question is: Has that actually made them better places to work?
When people can focus and work productively from so many different places, simply making the office more pleasant isn’t enough. A workplace needs to give people a genuine reason to be there: to meet, exchange ideas, feel a sense of belonging, find inspiration – and experience moments that can’t quite be recreated at home or over a video call.
That’s exactly what we’d like to explore during ORGATEC and IDD at Design Post Cologne.
On 27 October, Anna Königsfeld from Carpus+Partner and Nils Hensen from Mobitec will come together for a conversation. Representing two companies that don’t currently work together, they’ll explore modern workplaces from different perspectives: Carpus+Partner through architecture, planning and user needs; Mobitec through furniture, comfort, materials and how people actually experience a space.
The discussion will be moderated by Helmut Kowalewski from uniko.academy. A qualified architect and former long-standing project manager at Carpus+Partner, he now works as a systemic consultant, facilitator and visualisation trainer. He brings another perspective to the conversation, drawing on first-hand experience of the connections between planning, collaboration and organisational change.
What brings all three together is a shared set of questions:
- What makes a workplace genuinely attractive today?
- What role do connection and belonging play?
- How much flexibility do modern workplaces really need?
- What can office spaces learn from hospitality and residential design?
- And at what point does making an office feel ‘cosy’ become a superficial answer to a much more complex question?
This won’t be a traditional keynote. ‘Cosy isn’t enough.’ is intended as an open discussion, bringing together different experiences, different perspectives and perhaps even different answers.
Because great workplaces aren’t shaped by a single discipline. They emerge when architecture, interior design, company culture, furniture and, above all, people’s needs come together.
Join the conversation
- 27 October 2026 · 12:00
- Design Post Cologne
- Free admission
For architects, interior designers, planners and everyone interested in creating workplaces where people don’t just have to work – but genuinely want to be.