Workplace design becomes a cultural intervention when space mimics village social structures.
Imagine an office where each department maintains its own neighborhood with distinct colors and graphics, yet all paths lead to a shared marketplace where spontaneous conversations spark unexpected innovations. Evolution Design created exactly this environment for Puls, a German high-tech engineering company, transforming 3300 square meters across two floors into a spatial ecosystem that mirrors how human communities have naturally organized for millennia. The village metaphor at Puls is not decorative branding. Each team occupies a visually distinct zone that provides identity and belonging, while central gathering areas function as communal spaces where cross-departmental encounters happen organically. The HR department commissioned this workplace specifically to move company culture away from islands of isolated workers toward a networked community. What makes the Puls Workplace Design particularly instructive for brands is how concretely the village concept translated into measurable outcomes.
Following completion in March 2017, teams at Puls reported significant increases in internal communication, particularly between research and development and other departments. The company documented a rise in spontaneous informal meetings, which innovation research consistently identifies as a key driver of breakthrough thinking. One design decision illustrates the strategic depth behind the project. The existing building had only unattractive fire escape stairs connecting the two floors, so Evolution Design pushed for a new internal staircase, navigating structural engineering challenges and building owner negotiations, because without improved vertical circulation the entire collaboration objective would fail. The project earned a Golden A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design, recognizing how spatial strategy can advance workplace thinking. Custom environmental graphics drawn from electrical components Puls produces reinforce company identity on every wall surface.
For brands seeking to strengthen cross-departmental collaboration, the Puls project offers something beyond trendy open-plan solutions. The village framework provides a transferable principle: design spaces that give teams distinct identities while creating natural pathways to shared gathering points. When physical environment reflects how humans actually form communities, collaboration becomes the default behavior rather than a mandated policy.
