Aesop Stores

Rather than setting up half a dozen cookie cutter shops across the globe, Aesop aims to create individual experiences inspired by the local scenes. From Italy to Japan, every store is a unique tribute to its vibrant location. For instance, Aesop James Street is housed in a semi-translucent fiberglass shell, the same material found in the kayaks and surfboards along the coast of Queensland, while the tile-lined interior of Aesop Century City is an homage to the backyard swimming pools of Los Angeles. In Aesop Vieux Montreal, the industrial heritage of the Harrison-Stephens building is highlighted through steel bars and exposed bricks. Meanwhile, green metal shelving in West Loop mimics the gridded fencing and green tarps throughout the urban construction zones in Chicago, and Aesop Richmond finds refuge in a three-story old English Georgian house. Although each space carries its own distinct aesthetic, the brand's devotion to intelligent and sustainable design is a cohesive feature instilled in every location.

Reebok Headquarters

Reebok is setting up shop in Boston's Seaport District. Located in the Innovation and Design Building, the 220,000 square-foot headquarters puts fitness at the forefront. It features a two-story gym that is basically a cross-fit paradise, although, the 30,000 square-foot facility can also accommodate a number of other workout styles with a boxing ring, spin room, and yoga and barre studios. But before employees can get their sweat on, they must put in their hours in the open workplace. The space is free of offices and assigned seating, allowing for constant interaction between staff. The site is finished off with a cafe, design lab, and massive retail store.

Photos: Garrett Rowland / Gensler

Yeezy Studio

Step into the space where Kanye West turns his madness into genius. Housed in a former Calabasas office building, the 14,390-square-foot headquarters contains workspaces, a sewing room, recording studio, library, and an event space for the budding Yeezy empire. The interior is fitted with custom-made Italian pieces designed by the rapper and his long-time collaborator Willo Perron which includes cast-concrete benches and a 30-foot-long sofa. With blackened wood and concrete dominating the moody palette, the aesthetic leans toward minimalist — free of unnecessary ornaments or accessories — just like his designs.

Photos: Nicholas Cope / Pin-Up Magazine

Neal Beckstedt Studio

By infusing modern residential design into a functional office space, Neal Beckstedt has created a studio that would make you excited to go to work. The open room is organized around an oversized custom walnut table. Its central location makes it ideal for team conferences and client meetings. A row of large hot-rolled steel and plywood desks form workstations while vintage flat files and black melamine cabinetry store material samples. Like the interior designer's work, the light-filled space is finished with neutral tones and shades of gray, promoting his signature warm brand of modernism.

Photos: Eric Piasecki / Neal Beckstedt Studio

Alma Creative Club

Situated in the heart of Stockholm, Alma Creative Club is a member's club co-working hybrid. The five-story space was formerly home to Beckman's School of Design and has been updated by architectural firm Tham & Videgård, complete with custom desks, tables, benches, and lamps. Throughout the space, you'll find dedicated work areas, meeting rooms, a music studio, communal and private dining spaces, a members-only restaurant, and an outdoor terrace. Five membership types are offered depending on your needs, but you can still check it out even if you don't get a membership by visiting the coffee bar or outpost of design shop Austere on the first floor.

Fjord Helsinki

Designed by Studio Joanna Laajisto, Fjord Helsinki is the rare office with the feel of a home. That is, of course, intentional, as the space frequently welcomes employees arriving from the creative agency's offices around the world. To achieve the effect, natural materials abound, from the oak floors to the potted plants. Sliding glass partitions preserve natural light while aiding privacy, and the large tables and sofas foster both collaboration and camaraderie.

Photos: Mikko Ryhänen / Studio Joanna Laajisto

Vitsoe Royal Leamington Spa HQ

Dieter Rams' 606 Universal Shelving System, Vitsoe's most notable product, is modular, letting it conform to a multitude of uses. As is the new Vitsoe Royal Leamington Spa HQ. Designed by Martin Francis, known for his work on super yachts, the 36,000-square-foot factory is meant to be rearranged and reconfigured as needed. It also bears a notable nautical influence, with laminate-veneer lumber on the inner walls and ceilings. A roof of skylights provides ample illumination, making artificial lighting unnecessary during working hours and improving the health of every employee.

Moxon Architects Studio

Embedded in the natural terrain, the Moxon Architects Studio sets up shop in the Scottish Highlands. The dual structures occupy an existing contour in the landscape. Each volume is separated by function, with the road-side building housing the more communal areas and the other consisting of private workspaces and meeting rooms. A covered walkway joins the two spaces and also acts as an outdoor break space to enjoy the surrounding forest's birch, rowan, and aspen trees.

Photos: Moxon Architects

Media Headquarters

Occupying two floors of the 120-year-old Union Square Building, the Media Headquarters brings the past into the present. The structure's original steel framework and brick walls were left exposed to highlight its historic character. Modern fixtures and finishes mesh with the existing elements through a contrasting white and black palette. Both levels are comprised of a mix of individual workspaces and collaborative lounges. The heartbeat of the office is a central stair. Not only is it a passage between levels, but the walkway also features a projection screen rotating and sliding doors, and theatre curtains to convert the space into a viewing pavilion for films and lectures.

Photos: Kevin Scott / Olson Kundig

Mobelux Office

Wander past Richmond's WPA-era Saunders Station, and you get little hint of the innovation happening inside. Recently, lovingly renovated, it now serves as the offices for the software firm Mobelux. As designers themselves, it took the team nearly a year to make sure all the details were right, from a custom wayfinding system and signage to integrating the modern with the historical. The result is a workplace that pays respect to and yet builds upon what came before — just like any good product.

The original marble and terrazzo lobby now doubles as a presentation space, and the maple-floored work floor has returned to the open plan it had when serving as a post office in the 1930s, complete with an inspector walkway above. Other highlights include a kitchen in the space formerly used to load mail Jeeps, a library placed in front of the vault, a bar and billiards area built out of a boiler room, and a long-forgotten lockerroom transformed into the company theater. Despite the changes, all you need to do is look at the carved eagle above the entrance for a reminder of the space's former use, and for an appreciation of the work involved to prepare it for decades of future service.

Nike NYC Headquarters

Don't worry Duck fans — Nike isn't abandoning Beaverton anytime soon. The new Nike New York City Headquarters is the company's East Coast home, stretching across 150,000 square feet and six floors. Located near sports mecca Madison Square Garden, it's set up with the athlete in mind, complete with an arena-like entrance tunnel, designated employee lockers, a fitness studio, and a full-length basketball court complete with bleachers. Employees are free to roam the open space and plug in where ever they see fit, or just grab their work and head to the outdoor area, which is finished with a Swoosh made up of plants.

Camp David

Located in Brooklyn's Industrial City, Camp David is giving co-working a sophisticated update. The workspace takes on a Mad Men aesthetic with warm walnut woods, dark leather, and midcentury furniture that has all of the modern luxuries for today's startup. With furnished workstations, private offices, conference rooms, and soundproof studios, there are accommodations for everyone from freelancers to small business. Memberships run month-to-month and include gym access, a general store, concierge service, and a bar that acts as a cafe by day and transforms into a swanky after-hours spot at night.

Photos: Camp David

Flahalo Office

Housed in the former site for Nanxing Glass Manufacturing, the Flahalo Office integrates its former function into its new design. The workspace navigates its ill-proportioned structure by dividing it up into three areas. The spaces are connected by a pair of raw iron tunnels, creating a single exit and entrance route, encouraging exploration and interaction between coworkers. The existing concrete ceilings and raw brick walls were left exposed, while the addition of glass in the corridor and over rough-cut openings in the walls are a nod to the building's factory heritage.

Photos: Kevin Ho / Narration

Place Saint George

Located in Paris' iconic circular square, the Place Saint George is a company office space with a residential atmosphere. Traditional moldings and a herringbone wood flooring were left intact to compliment its historic setting, while sleek black lacquer gives the intricate woodwork a modern update. The antique quality of the carvings is offset with a contemporary collection of furnishings, featuring chrome accents and vibrant finishes. These additions mixed with the room's existing character give the space a living room aesthetic with the functionality of a workspace.

Photos: Jérôme Galland / Festen Architecture

Faraday Street Studio

Set in the loft of a 1940's warehouse, the Faraday Street Studio is an open workspace that embraces its industrial setting. The building's original character was left intact with poured concrete floors, rough sawn wood sheathing, exposed brick, and the existing timber framing defining the gabled roofline. Designed by Fearon Hay Architects, who are also the occupants, the space was left free of partitions and instead filled with open workstations and a communal idea board, encouraging interaction between both clients and coworkers.

Photos: Michelle Weir / Fearon Hay Architects

Draplin Design Co.

FIRST SEEN IN UNCRATE MAGAZINE — If Aaron Draplin isn't the best designer in America, he's the most American designer in America. He's a midwesterner who transplanted himself to Portland in his early 20's, but who never really lost the Michigan in him. He's more about function than style. He's the type of guy who's going to make fun of you for taking Instagrams of your food. And like all luminaries, he's generally a little crazy.

He's designed things for Nike, the Obama administration, and a bunch of brands and bands you've never heard of. In fact, he's the type of guy who prefers making logos and identities for smaller companies. Draplin loves making the little guys look big. He likes leveling the playing field with a good logo. His client game is pretty strong, but he's not really striving for big business.

Draplin travels the nation, getting paid to explain to creative types and college students how you can not give any fucks and succeed at life. His speaking gigs are more akin to a stop on a one-man-rock-band tour. People before and after shaking hands, buying merch, and getting him to autograph it. When we attended one of his talks recently, he could barely get a couple of sentences out before being interrupted by a fan.

Like most of us who actually like our jobs, he works longs hours. When he's not designing logos or grinding away on a new poster or cap, he's working on Field Notes, the remarkable notebook company he co-founded, where there seems to be a new cover released every few weeks — and where we can only imagine is a gym-sized room filled with swimmable-cash from all the millions of 3-pack pocket notebooks that have been sold.

Above everything though, he's a collector. Or maybe a rescuer. He might even just be a hoarder. But we're sure glad that he's doing it. He loves the terrifically thick-lined logos that have long been forgotten. At estate sales and yard sales and dirty basements all across the country, Draplin is rescuing old stuff with old type and old designs. He uses it as inspiration on future work, and generally just feels a need to save every piece he can find — because if he doesn't do it, no one will.

In the photos above, Draplin gives us a look at his Portland office, along with a fraction of the old patches, matchbooks, and memo books he's collected over the years from establishments ranging from farms to hotels to insurance agencies, and every other type of business you can imagine. He's even prying those tiny metal plates filled with serial numbers and special captions off of old machines. And of course, he's saving anything set in Futura Bold.

Photos: Jay Gullion / Uncrate

Paper Mill Studios

Set just a 10 minute walk away from two separate underground stops, Paper Mill Studios is a multi-use workspace that makes the most of its setting. The owners worked with closely with Gresford Architects to restore the interior of the three-story former mill, separating it into a standalone photo studio, kitchen area, loft, and communal office while adding a second-floor mezzanine and modern glazing and zinc-clad extension. Some desks in the main work area are available for rent on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, giving you the opportunity not only to visit the place, but to get some work done while you're there.

Photos: French & Tye / Gresford Architects

Everlane Office

Located in a second story warehouse in San Francisco's Mission District, the Everlane Office is as functional as it is beautiful. The clothing brand moved in last year, and instead of relying on an architect or interior designer, did all of the work themselves. With custom white furniture, 20-foot ceilings, and large industrial windows, it provides employees with plenty of space to create in an environment that proves that less is more — just like Everlane's clothing.

Photos: Luke Beard

VSCO Office

VSCO is known for its minimal app and world-class photo filters and presets. So it's fitting that the VSCO Office is similarly stripped down and picturesque. Housed inside one of the only historic buildings in downtown Oakland, the company had DeBartolo Architects remove all unnecessary fixtures, leaving mostly just structural wood, concrete, and glass. To encourage collaboration and openness, the office has the absolute minimum of partitions, glass enclosures for meeting spaces, and shared communal seating for workers and visitors alike.

Photos: Mariko Reed

Harry's Office

Men's grooming brand (and friend of Uncrate) Harry's is known for its clean design. So when it came time to spruce up their New York City HQ, it only made sense for them to partner with another design-focused firm. Harry's Office is the result of a collaboration with Herman Miller, which brought its Living Office concept to live in the space. The new digs encourage connection between employees while adjusting to fit their different work styles, tools, and personalities, and helping to boost productivity.