Fosbury & Sons Co-Work in Antwerp, Belgium by Going East

Article source: Going East

‘The renaissance of work’

Fosbury & Sons has taken up residence in the WATT-tower in Antwerp, a building by legendary modernist architect Léon Stynen. On the impressive first floor Fosbury & Sons founders Stijn Geeraets and Maarten Van Gool have launched a new and high-quality way of working, ‘the renaissance of work’, focussing on the needs of today’s generation. Fosbury & Sons is an inspiring and professional workplace where entrepreneurs, digital nomads and larger companies come together and benefit from all kinds of additional services. As a member, you will enjoy the comfort of a professional office, with the welcome warmth of your living room, the services and looks of a hotel and the fun of your free time. The impressive 3000 m² area was decorated by the Antwerp-based architects Going East.

Image Courtesy © Going East

• Architects: Going East
• Project: Fosbury & Sons Co-Work
• Location: Antwerp, Belgium

Image Courtesy © Going East

THE RENAISSANCE OF WORK

With Fosbury & Sons, Stijn Geeraets and Maarten Van Gool introduce a new era of working, in cooperation with top entrepreneur Serge Hannecart, CEO of the Antwerp property developer L.I.F.E. Along with L.I.F.E., Fosbury & Sons invested 6 million Euro in 250 new workplaces.

Image Courtesy © Going East

Image Courtesy © Going East

“A shift is lurking in society’s perception of ‘working’. This translates into autonomy, commitment and a sense of purpose. ‘Time’ is our most precious asset. Let’s make our time our own again.” – Stijn Geeraets In addition, this new way of working can partly solve the mobility issue. This way, employees don’t have to commute to the head office every day, but they can still work with colleagues in a professional environment.

Image Courtesy © Going East

Image Courtesy © Going East

Fosbury & Sons offers an inspiring answer to that grey office and look-alike work mentality. Collaborations outside the boundaries of companies, literally and figuratively, allow for flexibility and entrepreneurship – with the necessary portion of entertainment.

Let’s bring work to life

Fosbury & Sons provides the working man and woman with tools to better juggle their work-life balance. Useful professional services, educational lectures and fun events raise your quality of life during or after work. A quality work environment that inspires both before, during and after work.

Image Courtesy © Going East

Image Courtesy © Going East

As a member, you will enjoy the comfort of a professional office, with the welcome warmth of your living room, the services and looks of a hotel and the fun of your free time.

“With Fosbury & Sons, we want to meet the needs of today’s generation. Today’s employee or freelancer wants a perfect work-life balance. With us, he will find a professional work place including useful services that will raise the quality of his (working) life.” – Maarten Van Gool. Humanity

Image Courtesy © Going East

Fosbury & Sons wants to bring fun and life to work and encourages collaborations across the boundaries of businesses. Both freelancers, business nomads and employees of small and large businesses are welcome. They want to address different sectors, within and outside of Antwerp. Thus, people can cooperate in establishing a strong and valuable network.

“Employees of companies from other cities can also get space at Fosbury & Sons so they can work in a professional environment in their home town. This way, we want to join forces and create a cross-pollination in the Antwerp business world.” – Stijn Geeraets

Image Courtesy © Going East

MEMBERSHIPS

Fosbury & Sons has developed several membership formulas – from Guest (1 month access to the lobby and certain services, 15 Euro), Nomad (10 days flexible workspace – valid for 3 months, 195 Euro), Resident (full-time flexible workspace, 295 Euro) to Atelier (fixed open or closed working space, 345/385 Euro) or Suite (private room from 2 to 15 people, custom price) and Corporate (custom packages, for large companies) – where you can take up a professional workspace with a mature image in a social (network) environment.

Image Courtesy © Going East

What is included in the memberships?

• Fosbury & Sons is accessible 24/7.
• For meetings or discussions, you can use the cosy seated areas, the large working tables and the impressive lobby.
• The library filled with inspirational books including the 60 top titles of the Antwerp publishing house Luster. Moreover, you can order the Luster books at a special price, with them also being delivered personally at your desk.
• Sennheiser provides beautiful noise-suppressing headphones to enclose you in your own little world – when the need is greatest.
• You can refresh at any time of the day with care products of the Dutch Marie-Stella-Maris. There are showers for passionate cyclists who like to take the bike to work or fitness enthusiasts who like to go jogging in-between.

Image Courtesy © Going East

• No time to wash clothes or exercise? Thanks to the laundry service and training lessons, this belongs to the past.
• A successful working day includes a proper serving of healthy food. The Antwerp-originated Coffeelabs opened its second branch at Fosbury & Sons and serves all members with healthy food, drinks and of course premium coffee through their in-house bar.

BUILDING & INTERIOR

Fosbury & Sons offers 3000 m2 of creative energy on the first floor of the WATT Tower. The impressive plateau is supported by concrete columns and the 6 meter high windows overlook the King Albert park landscape. The entire building was built in 1958 by the legendary Belgian architect Léon Stynen.

Image Courtesy © Going East

The pioneering Antwerp design office, Going East, founded by interior designers Anaïs Torfs and Michiel Mertens, turned the creative hub into a professional interior with a mature appearance. The interiors of the recently reopened gourmet restaurant Veranda and the traditional bakery Konditori, are examples of Going East projects.

“We create a unique setting per project. We love a mix between old and new, by using natural materials in combination with an ethnic touch. There is a lot of customization in Fosbury & Sons in particular. Customizing often also means experimenting. The bar for instance is built completely of 100% recycled bricks and fibreglass.” – Anaïs Torfs.

Image Courtesy © Going East

The interior of Fosbury & Sons intends to leave you with a kind of High Line (New York) – like feeling. When walking around at Fosbury & Sons, you can take different types of walks and discover something new each time. A new route, a new bit of space. Going East focused on that greatness and breathing space to avoid the typical feeling of a classic office.

“Here you can pause at the bar during a “walk”, work at the plants, sit in the library, lie down in the Aster seat, enjoy the view on the steps… That freedom is important.” – Anaïs Torfs

Image Courtesy © Going East

The rooms and walls are decorated with art in collaboration with the Antwerp-based PLUS-ONE gallery, Sofie Van De Velde and Brusselsbased gallery Veerle Verbakel. They are also curating and rotating the art. In addition, there is a permanent private collection of Serge Hannecart, ranging from the art of Damien Hirst and Fabre to vintage furniture.

WATT + L.I.F.E.

WATT stands for Working Apart, Thinking Together. The new name of the modernistic cathedral winks at the former Electrabel building, but mostly refers to a new way of working that has already been on the advance for some time abroad.

Image Courtesy © Going East

“In New York, for example, they have cleared away the walls between companies for some time. It is time we follow that example in Antwerp. “, motivates L.I.F.E. CEO Serge Hannecart. He sees WATT as the cluster model of the future.

Real estate developer L.I.F.E. is based in Antwerp and wants to revamp and innovate with his projects. L.I.F.E. creates unique settings at exceptional places to live, work and shop.

Image Courtesy © Going East

Tags: Antwerp, Belgium

Categories: Building, Business Centre, Offices, Tower

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