Behind the scenes: Sensolus moves to new headquarters

It was one year ago that our (now former) landlord notified us that our contract was coming to an end, and we needed to find new premises for our Belgian headquarters. Considering the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, major cost inflations, geo-politic tensions in the electronic industry, and so on, as a fast-growing, global company, we are used to adapting to sudden changes. 

We realized that this relocation was an opportunity to turn a setback into a step forward, and that is exactly what we did.

We loved our old office space, it represented the growth phase that our company was in, but this relocation offered us a blank canvas, an open door to reinventing not only our office space but our approach to office life as a whole. 

Back to the office

We all remember the spring of 2020; everyone was caught off-guard by the pandemic and we were all suddenly pushed into the work-from-home setting. Back then, there was a lot of uncertainty about how this would evolve.

Today we can see that this event has transformed our mindsets for good. Remote and hybrid working styles are no longer the ‘new normal’, but a widely accepted societal ‘norm’ instead.

Sensolus is, by nature, a dynamic company, and we recognize the importance of having our teams together in the same physical location. We operate at a fast pace, which means information and learning are shared on the floor in a non-structured way – conference calls cannot replace this level of engagement.

As social beings, we don’t get as energized by a conference call as we do speaking to our colleagues across the desk.

 

A transition from the “home office” to “office home” 

One of the guidelines for our interior designer, Han Baccaert, was to create an informal and cozy atmosphere, where everyone can feel at “home”.

Our Gent-based interior designer has a brilliant eye for translating the Sensolus brand and values into a strong visual language. His aesthetic insight and creative thinking were the perfect match for the vision that our co-founders, Kristoff Van Rattinghe, Johan Criel, Laurence Claeys, and Koen Van Vlaenderen had for the office space.

The final product was more than we had imagined, with the hard work of our architect, Tom Vandendriessche, the office had a rejuvenated flow between rows of desks and comfortable sitting rooms.

As an anecdote, one of the reasons why our co-founder Johan (CTO) agreed on the new location was the presence of two private terraces… no better place to bring great minds together. 

 

Out of the box

Building a company from scratch certainly is about thinking out of the box. The same is true in this project. We had been looking to rent a new office space; one that is easily accessible to the team, with lots of natural light, etc. and we struggled to find one that ticked all the boxes. 

We were lucky enough to be introduced to this location by the new landlord, but the “catch” was that the original space was used as an industrial kitchen combined with a canteen. 

By design, we could think out of the box, and we joined forces to create a brand-new office space in less than four months. 

Our architect, Tom explains his approach:

“Starting from a blank canvas is both an opportunity and a challenge. We decided to go for a symmetrical layout – with a “corporate” feel at the entrance, and a “home” atmosphere in the back. Between the entrance and the back, the desks are lined up next to large windows that run along either side of the building, which offers natural light and a sense of openness in the office. This layout combines simplicity with all the requirements.”

 

Recycling

At Sensolus, we focus on optimizing the supply chain for industrial companies and improving the return flows of returnable transport packaging with our technology. It is an underlying mission for Sensolus our customers to reduce the environmental footprint in their operations.

But behind the scenes, we also walk the talk. For the new office, we recycled the glass walls and doors of the meeting rooms and refurbished them in the new location. It took additional work, lots of creativity, and last-minute layout changes, but at least, we could reuse materials that would otherwise have been lost.

 

Creativity

From day one, our project had strict time and cost constraints – strict constraints that could only be solved using a creative approach. We were blessed to be able to count on a team of motivated and creative interior builders. They balanced everything out perfectly to deliver on time and on budget.

This project is exemplary execution of IKEA hacks, buying old stuff at auctions and using materials you would not expect in an office environment.

Han, the interior decorator enjoyed the creative freedom on this project, here’s what he has to say:

“When starting this project, the deadline and budget restriction was extremely challenging. Luckily enough, Kristoff gave us a blank slate to work with. Not only for building the internal structures according to Tom’s plan, but we were also given freedom in the decoration aspects, such as neon lighting, color selection, plants, decoration materials, and so on. Happy Joris could assist me to deliver what we promised.”

 

People matter

The people are the driving force behind Sensolus. The new office has been a project with challenges, and an energy rollercoaster for all the people that worked on it. Today, as the dust has settled, it is an energy booster for all the team members that work in this unique setting. 

The team is the strongest ingredient at Sensolus, and our goal was to create an environment where they can reach their full potential and truly make an impact in the industry.

Looking back at this journey, where we came from, and where we are now, we can officially say that Sensolus 2.0 is here, and it will carry us into the future.

Special thanks to the amazing design and build team:

#Interiordesign by Han Baccaert www.hanbaccaert.be and Joris Couwet.
#photography and #interiorvisualisation by Stijn Lammertyn www.stlvisuals.be.
#architecturedesign by Tom Vandendriessche.