Brand Spotlight: ROOM
In this week’s spotlight, we got to catch up with the brand ROOM. In this article, we learn a bit more about the background of ROOM and what makes them a brand to keep in mind while designing a commercial space.
Tell us the history of your brand:
ROOM is reshaping the modern workplace to create the offices of the future around the world. When we launched operations in May 2018, we set out to introduce a fast, affordable alternative to complex construction. Our simple and inspired modular architectural solutions allow teams to create and recreate their work environment with ease, through purpose-built rooms that cater to private, focused work, or collaborative teamwork that builds meaningful connection. The result—a dynamic, ever-changing workspace that alleviates the reliance on fixed construction and fixed ideas. Now with offices around the world from New York to San Francisco, London to Berlin, Sydney and beyond, ROOM is already building the workplace of tomorrow for over 4,500 customers ranging from budding startups to Fortune 500 companies including Nike, Google, Samsung, Roche, Uber, Walmart, J.P.Morgan, and more.
What serves as inspiration when creating new products?
Our customers serve as our primary inspiration, given we know that people are the most important asset in any organization. We design from the perspective of our community, putting ourselves in their shoes to create the space needed to bring their ideas to life. For companies to build and retain the best talent, future workspaces must be designed for the people using them – not only to satisfy our functional needs but to also inspire a new and better way of working. More than ever, workplaces should serve to fuel innovation, productivity, and cultural bonds. At ROOM, we exist to create more sparks and meaningful moments between people. We look at the office as a place of unity, an infrastructure primed to strengthen one of the most powerful tools of any organization — connectivity. With the rise of the hybrid workspace where people can choose to work from anywhere, companies can no longer rely on employees coming into the office because they have to. The office will need to be a magnetic place that motivates and inspires, while at the same time enabling strong human connection to build, motivate, and retain our organizations’ greatest asset – our talent.
What market(s) are your products designed for?
Our customers range from small creative start-ups to big tech and Fortune 500 powerhouse brands – covering every market segment. We work directly with heads of real estate, as well as facilities, workplace design and people ops teams, and work in partnership with architects and designers.
Describe the process your team goes through when creating a new product:
Here at ROOM we’re not just building another room with four walls, we’re building a more productive workspace. We look at every detail as an opportunity to enable a better working environment for everyone. Every design starts with a purpose, be it space to fuel creativity, offer a quiet getaway, or a place for collaboration. By designing only what is essential for a better way to work, we can create products that are as useful as they are accessible. We also focus on being simple and thoughtful at every step of the process. We use the highest-quality materials and our products feature a minimalist design that seamlessly blends into any office environment. Our design ethos is rooted in sustainability. All of our products are engineered with recycled materials and replace multiple cycles of construction, minimizing noise and our environmental footprint. In fact, each of our modular products use soundproofing materials made out of over 1,000 recycled plastic bottles. To date, we’ve repurposed over 17 million plastic bottles and counting.
Where are your products manufactured?
ROOM products are manufactured in the USA.
Looking forward:
The pandemic has highlighted an inconvenient truth about the modern workplace: it was never that great in the first place. We’ve always believed that the office is the heart of an organization and necessary to its growth, success, and evolution. But, we cannot return to the workplaces that existed pre-pandemic. Strip away the COVID context, the office has underserved our businesses and workforce for years. The pandemic has shifted our ability to choose how and where we work; going to the office will now be a conscious choice. We must build back a better future and reinvent the workplace – a digitally connected and modular workspace that inspires better work, increases employee retention, and adapts to the changing needs of business. The new office should balance diverse ways of working while supporting individual needs, offering a multitude of work environments that allow space for focused work, in-person and virtual collaboration, and everything in between. ROOM’s purpose-built, modular solutions are crucial in allowing companies to effortlessly shape their workplaces, offering agility, flexibility, saving time and money on traditional construction, and making it easier to react to the changing world around us.
Make sure to check out ROOM on Hello Raye or check out their website!
Find them on social media:
Twitter: @madebyroom
Facebook: @madebyroom
Instagram: @madebyroom
