Inside out? No, outside in!
Law firm CEO believes workplace design can change workplace attitude
By Yun Suh-young
Entrance hall
How Cho Gun-ho, CEO of Happy Maru, a legal consulting firm in Seocho-dong, Seoul, experimented with his office was revolutionary.
It is quite different from what we’d normally expect from a lawyers’ office.
At the entrance, visitors are greeted with a peculiar mat with directions on it to a “consulting bay” and a “lawyers’ hive”.
The entrance, which was facing the open space in between the two departments, was an unexpectedly empty space that made visitors wander around, lost in direction. That space, supposedly called the “theater,” was playing the role Cho intended it to. It was a place for meandering, for mingling and for contemplation.
“People don’t usually stroll in the office. If they do, that’d make them a weird person. I wanted the office to be stroll-friendly ― a place for insight. They say insight comes from contemplation, and contemplation from strolling,” Cho said, explaining the office space.
The “theater” has a screen showing time-lapse images of beautiful scenery and gentle music playing in the background. There’s also an LP player where employees can cue up their own music.
CEO's office
Interior
Happy Maru isn’t a big law firm, but it has become quite the talk of the town within the industry since the interior renovations in June.
The white-walled, black desk-and-chair combo with rooms lined on each side of the corridor ― what we’d usually expect from a law firm interior ― was nowhere to be seen. The office instead was artsy and leisurely.
At the “lawyer’s hive,” lawyers worked in their own rooms, but the “consulting bay” was an open space with an eight-person desk in the middle. Lawyers would come in and work in any seat they wanted ― much like a library. Lawyers each had their own movable lockers that they could roll around and place below the seat they chose for the day.
A “hiding box” next to the restrooms was where lawyers could take private calls or just rest.
“We took into account the needs of our employees based on a survey. This is a result based on careful research and communication,” said Cho.
Consulting Bay
Inspiration
Consulting Bay
It could not have been easy to experiment with the interior of his office considering the weight of his profession. But for Cho, it was only natural, as he had always been interested in architecture and space design, and had tried applying them to workplaces even since he was a prosecutor.
“When I was working at the Seoul Prosecutor’s Office, I was in charge of a newly created department called the ‘Future Planning Dept.’ I thought people who worked there should work in a futuristic environment. So I made visits to other law firms for reference and adopted their styles, because law firms are more open-minded and modern than the prosecutors’ office. When the interior changed, prosecutors in that department started thinking differently from others,” said Cho.
He recalled another instance when he was chief of the Institute of Justice. The designer who was in charge of the interior renovation there had painted the columns in front of the auditorium red without confirmation.
“Many were taken aback at the unexpected color as we had requested a ‘solemnly mood.’ But the lively color brightened up the heavy mood at the institute. Junior prosecutors would sing and dance in front of it during certification ceremonies. I then realized how space design could change people’s behavior,” said Cho.
So when opening up his own law office after retirement, he wanted it to be “different.”
“The name of our company ‘Happy Maru’ has a double meaning of ‘where happy people mingle’ and ‘the highest point of happiness’ in Korean. I wanted the office design to portray those meanings,” he said.
“I wanted it to be something of a surprise. ‘Am I at the right office?’ was the message I wanted to send to our clients. The people who come to see us don’t come for a happy reason. They all come to us with a problem. I wanted them to feel comfortable, at home and feel like they could rely on us. I didn’t want our office to look like an aloof, professionals’ league.”
The office was a result of three-way collaboration between Happy Maru; Enspire, a local design firm; and Vitra, a Swiss furniture company. Enspire came up with the office design, while Vitra provided the furniture to turn the concept into reality.
The theater
Influence
Choosing the type of desk or the color of the walls are extremely important aspects of work that CEOs should take into account, says Cho.
“It’s extremely sensitive matter that can alter people’s behavior. You work at the office all day. The office is where you feel all the five senses. The head of the company must have a philosophy about the office space,” he said.
“The scent is also important. We use phytoncide scent for the entrance.”
Since he believes spaces send messages, Cho utilizes that aspect to send his own messages.
“Instead of saying ‘let’s communicate,’ if you create a space for mingling, people naturally start communicating. Ever since we changed the design, troubles between colleagues have been drastically reduced due to increased communication,” Cho said.
“Spaces have their own ambience and atmospheres are transmittable. Resorts or entertainment parks are always upbeat while police stations and prisons are dark and sulky.
“When I was a prosecutor for 10 years, I was extremely prickly, harsh and swore a lot. That’s how you become in the profession. Lawyers are in a stressful environment as well, meeting unhappy clients all the time. I wanted our lawyers to work in a happy environment at least to level off the stress and meet their clients in a more pleasant manner.”
Now he’s equipped with a happier staff who are proud of the office and clients who love the atmosphere.