Transforming dreary offices into green oases

Tar, stone, metal – what a concrete desert Zurich’s industrial district is, I think to myself as I walk under Hardbrücke one summer morning. My eyes are longing for something green, something alive, an oasis.

Finally, it’s in sight, as I’m standing in front of Too Good To Go headquarters. The company that saves food from being thrown away enlisted online plant shop Mary & Plants (website in German) to transform its offices into an urban jungle. With biophilic design. I have to see it with my own eyes. It’s time to head up above the city’s rooftops, into the green oasis.

Along with Georgina Smith, People & Culture Coordinator at Too Good To Go, and Marie Henze, founder of Mary & Plants, I walk through the green open-plan office and up to the dining area. Everything is sprouting here: matching patterned dieffenbachia, cobbler palms, ferns and snake plants sprawl out of a wooden trough. Impressive monstera leaves cover a round bench in the middle of the room. Behind it, a fiddle-leaf fig and a bird of paradise rise into the sky. «It’s unbelievable,» Mary exclaims. «It’s grown so much.» «Yes, it likes it here,» says Georgina, beaming.

It’s been a year since Marie applied biophilic design to the Too Good To Go building. Picture her job as being similar to that of an interior decorator. The only difference is that she furnishes with plants. She’s moved what trained landscape architects previously did in parks indoors.

And business is b(l)ooming. Biophilic design already takes up 50 per cent of Marie’s workload at Mary & Plants. The big boom came after Covid. When it was time to go back to the office, employees longed for the cosy feel of home. So, many companies decided to make their spaces greener. All of which created the perfect growing conditions for Marie’s plant concept.

Georgina gets back to work and lets us wander through the rooms. The plant expert explains to me how she goes about her work. The focus of biophilic design is on a company’s philosophy. «Cute cacti and playful hanging plants fit in with a young, modern company. A law firm, on the other hand, needs something impressive, such as a large bird of paradise, fiddle-leaf fig or bucida tree.» Once Marie has ascertained the philosophy, she gets an idea of the rooms. How big are they? How much light comes in and from where? Where are the heaters and ventilation systems?

«It’s best if I’m involved right from the start of the planning process,» Marie explains. At Too Good To Go, for example, she was able to plan the planters with the interior designer and adapt them to size and optimal locations. «If I’m only called in at the end, the containers can be designed too low or installed in dark areas. Then I have to tell clients that what they have in mind is no longer feasible or will cost more due to necessary adjustments,» she adds.

People often underestimate the cost of biophilic design. Office furnishings usually cost from the mid-four to the low-five figure range. Large plants and individual containers in particular don’t come cheap. «I offer a special service for them,» says Marie with a wink. She replaces plants that die in the first month free of charge. And she visits the green spaces twice in the first year to check them. Clients can also send her photos or get advice over the phone if they have any problems.

It’s clear to see that Marie blossoms with joy when it comes to plants. She pauses for a moment at every patch of greenery and examines the new leaves and branches with fascination. But her job can also be exhausting at times. The longer it takes, the more clients’ ideas of a green interior are shaped by social media and don’t 100% work in an office situation. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, they have no clear idea of their future office environment at all. «In both cases, you need sensitivity,» explains Marie.

One of her IT company clients was particularly tricky. «The office manager wanted everything to be green. But the employees weren’t particularly interested in plants,» she says. «So I had to come up with something.» When Marie looked through her range of plants, something caught her eye: Calathea Network. It’s a houseplant with a special leaf pattern reminiscent of the pixel structure of a matrix. «They were completely thrilled with it,» Marie remembers with a laugh. «In the end, it became a real competition of whose plant grew best. Everyone started to look after their Calathea.»

If this method manages to reconnect people with nature, biophilic design has been a success. Marie says: «I’d like the city to turn green and nature to reclaim some of it.» An ivy plant at Too Good To Go has shown a first step sign of growth in this direction. It’s climbing up a window frame, clinging to the smooth surface with small adhesive roots. Marie’s amazed. And the concrete jungle behind her almost seems to fade away.

If you want to add some biophilic design to your office quickly and easily, Mary & Plants offers this Office Box:

Plants

CHF454.52

Mary and Plants Office Box plant box with HAY pot in light grey

Plants

CHF454.52

Mary and Plants Office Box plant box with HAY pot in light grey

Have you transformed your office or living room into a green oasis too? Let me know in the comments.