Our Story

How one full library sparked the idea for a new way of working outdoors

Sometimes big ideas begin in very ordinary places. In our case: on a staircase outside a library. Back in 2022, Cor, one of our co-founders, was still a student searching for a topic for his master’s dissertation. The library was packed, every seat taken, every corner occupied. With nowhere left to go, he stepped outside to look for a quiet and sunny place to think.

There was just one problem: there was no furniture designed for outdoor work: No decent table. No proper seat. No power. No real workspace. So he sat on the stairs in front of the library and started brainstorming there anyway.

And something clicked...

Fresh air sharpened focus. The change of scenery unlocked ideas. Within minutes, the dissertation topic appeared: what happens when people work outdoors, and why aren’t we doing it more often?

That simple staircase became the first unofficial Out Of Office workspace 🌱

The research behind outdoor working

What started as an academic question quickly became something much bigger.

After reviewing dozens of scientific studies and interviewing more than 200 employees and students, one conclusion kept returning: working outdoors improves creativity, productivity, and wellbeing.

Scientific literature pointed in the same direction as real human experience:

• People think more creatively outdoors

• Focus improves with fresh air and natural light

• Stress levels drop when being surrounded by nature

• Teams collaborate better in open-air environments

And then came the number that changed everything:

95% of employees would like to work outdoors at least once a week.

That statistic became the seed of Out Of Office.

Because if almost everyone wants outdoor work, why is almost nobody doing it? 🌤️

Why outdoor work still isn’t normal

The answer turned out to be surprisingly simple: people want it, but workplaces are not built for it.

There is still a strange old image attached to outdoor work, as if working outside automatically means sitting on a beach with a cocktail and pretending to work. 🍹

Reality says otherwise, because the biggest barriers are practical:

• No electricity

• Screens impossible to read in sunlight

• Wind blowing papers everywhere

In short: the idea is attractive, the setup often isn’t.

That gap is exactly where Out Of Office was born.

Turning underused outdoor space into productive workspaces

At Out Of Office, we believe gardens, patios, rooftops, courtyards and terraces deserve a second life.

Not as decoration, but as places where ideas grow faster.

We transform underused outdoor areas into high-performance outdoor workspaces where teams can focus, meet, create, and recharge.

Think of it as giving your office an extra room, just with the freshest air you can imagine, nature in the surroundings and a smile on your face thanks to the sun ☀️

Our mission is simple: Turn the outdoors into a playground where employees thrive and feel alive.

From idea to co-founding Out Of Office

After years of sketching and refining concepts, testing ideas, and imagining how outdoor work could become part of everyday professional life, Cor joined forces with his high school friend Amaury.

Different backgrounds, one shared ambition: rethink where work happens.

Together, they started building what became Out Of Office, with one goal in mind: Create workspaces that feel better, perform better, and help people reconnect with energy, creativity, and each other.

Because sometimes the future of work is not inside another meeting room. Sometimes it is just outside the door 🌿

Want to explore what Out Of Office could look like for your office, coworking space, or team? Let’s talk!