Category: I’m a resident

The Office in 2026? An Example Speednet demonstrates that less can mean better and more efficient. The IT company, which previously leased two floors in Olivia Star optimized its space by moving to a smaller but more prestigious office on the highest office floor north of Warsaw. The company’s new office perfectly reflects the market transformations currently taking place in the office leasing segment. Business centres such as Olivia Centre, of which Olivia Star is a part, are gaining a significantly greater mix of tenants, also building their stability and resilience to turbulence in individual sectors of the economy, while the entire office centre community creates a more diverse ecosystem and space for cooperation, which was previously impossible during the period of dominance by selected industries.

 

Speednet is a strategic technology partner for financial institutions that want to deliver digital products faster, modernize legacy environments, and develop IT systems without compromising security, regulatory compliance, and operational stability. It helps regulated organizations shorten time-to-market, fill competency gaps, solve integration and technology challenges, and responsibly and securely implement innovations and use AI in daily work.

 

The company has been operating in a hybrid model for several years, and as the way of working changed, so did its office space requirements. In spring 2026, Speednet moved its Tri-City headquarters from the 19th and 20th floors of Olivia Star to the 31st floor—to a smaller but much better-suited space for the current work model. This is an excellent example of the direction in which the office segment is currently transforming. This example shows how many possibilities that previously seemed impossible or difficult are now everyday reality. It is also an example of how many opportunities are associated with choosing a large business centre as an office location and how flexibility in approach to leasing results in a lasting and partnership-based relationship between the office space manager and the tenant.

 

About why the company decided on this change, what the role of the office looks like today in a technology organization, and what makes employees want to come to it despite the possibility of remote work, Karolina Zarusińska, Head of Employer Branding at Speednet, explains.

 

Where did the need to move to the 31st floor of Olivia Star from the 19th and 20th floors come from?

We leased our previous office from 2021, which was when the labor market—especially in the IT industry—was changing very dynamically. Over those few years, the hybrid model became firmly established with us. We learned to work effectively in distributed teams, while at the same time we began to recruit specialists more broadly from outside the Tri-City as well.

 

Today, flexibility is an important element of our organizational culture. Some people work mainly remotely, some appear in the office regularly, and some choose it depending on projects, meetings, or simply the need to work with the team.

 

At a certain point, it became clear that two floors of approximately 1,000 m² each were no longer space corresponding to our real needs. We had already been subleasing one of the floors to a friendly company. At the beginning of this year, our needs, the needs of our tenant, and another company looking for larger space in Olivia Centre met at the perfect moment. As a result, a kind of triple relocation took place, and it appears that each party found a solution better suited to their current way of working.

 

We ended up on the 31st floor of Olivia Star—in a space decidedly more intimate, but at the same time very functional. And from the perspective of several months, we can say that it was a very good decision.

What is the area of the new office and how do you use it today?

The new office is approximately 480 m². We have about 40 workstations, all operating on a hot desk system. With our current hybrid model, this number corresponds very well to actual office attendance.

 

Instead of one large open space, the area has been divided into two smaller workstation zones—one intended mainly for technical teams, and the other for support departments. We also have three conference rooms, two separate rooms, a functional server room, and—decidedly the most important from the perspective of office life—a large social zone.

 

We wanted the space to be tailored not to the number of people employed in the company, but to how we actually use the office today. We no longer treat it solely as a place where you come for eight hours and sit at an assigned desk. Increasingly, it is a space for meetings, collaborative work, integration, or knowledge exchange.

 

What style prevails in the new office? What did you emphasize during its preparation?

We were somewhat fortunate because we ended up in a space that had already been very interestingly designed by Design Anatomy. Many elements from the original arrangement remained, giving the interior character—including the kitchen, green walls, planters, materials, and finishing details.

 

Of course, we adapted the layout to our needs, primarily by increasing the number of workstations, but we wanted to preserve the character of this space.

 

We also approached the relocation itself very pragmatically. We did not want to furnish the new office from scratch just because we were changing floors. We used the furniture we already had. Some of the equipment that we were unable to use in the smaller space we sold, and a considerable portion we also donated to charity.

 

New elements we decided on after the move included acoustic booths, which are simply very practical with hybrid work and a large number of online meetings.

Are there any unconventional solutions or places that are particularly worth describing?

Our social zone is definitely the heart of the new office. And we ourselves are a bit surprised at how warmly it has been received by everyone.

 

It is a combination of a kitchen, a large bar counter, seating areas, poufs, a pool table, and table football. You can have lunch together here, hold a less formal meeting, work with a laptop away from your desk, or simply meet with people you do not see every day with the hybrid work model.

 

Importantly, the space can be very easily adapted to different events. Since April, two larger events have already taken place here. The first was another edition of our company “MasterChef,” during which we prepared tartare and sushi together with the CEO. The second was kobido massage workshops organized for the women on our team. With both events, we were able to transform the everyday office space into an event venue in just a few moments.

 

The new office is also very green.

Definitely. It is much greener than our previous office.

 

We have three green walls, and the individual workstation zones are separated by large planters. Plants have also been placed in the conference rooms. Some of them are still settling in and growing, so we expect the effect will be even better over time.

 

It is actually quite an interesting contrast: on the one hand, we are on the 31st floor, with huge windows offering a panorama of the Tri-City and a view toward the Bay of Gdańsk, and on the other hand—inside we are surrounded by a lot of greenery. You could say we managed to avoid having to choose between a sea view and a view of plants.

How do the employees themselves rate the new office?

The best proof is probably their own words.

“Working in an intimate space full of greenery, filled with natural light thanks to huge windows with a view of the entire bay, is a work privilege that cannot be replaced by Fruit Thursdays. If I were to leave my job, it would only be with the awareness that I will probably never work in such a comfortable place again.”

Tymoteusz Olszewski
Head of AI

“Open space? I was skeptical. But it turns out that a well-designed space, plants that handle irrigation better than I do with mine at home, and the 31st floor did the trick. At this height, ‘working in the cloud’ takes on a completely new meaning—and it turned out that this space really rebuilt our relationships anew.”

 

Marta Nowocińska
People Performance Partner

“What I appreciate most is that the office is not one huge open space. The division into smaller parts gives a much more intimate atmosphere. In addition, the social heart zone naturally encourages meetings with people. A shared lunch at a long table, a quick game of table football, or a moment of conversation in the relaxation zone make integration happen on its own, somewhat incidentally—without the need to organize a special event.”

 

Weronika Dudko-Konopka
Employer Branding Specialist

And perhaps this last aspect is the most interesting for us. With hybrid work, the office must give people something more than just a workstation—a comfortable desk can be arranged at home as well. The value of the office becomes primarily the people, the possibility of spontaneous meetings, and a space that facilitates such meetings.

Is the new office fully ready?

Almost, although we still have a few ideas.

 

We want to recreate, among other things, a wall with photos from company events that we had in the previous office and which was one of its most beloved elements. Over the years, quite a lot of shared stories have accumulated, and we want this to be visible in our new space as well.

 

We also plan our “dinosaur wall”—of course in the best sense of the word. This is a place dedicated to people who have been at Speednet for over 10 years. We already have 40 (!) such people, so there is definitely someone to feature on it.

 

This is an important element for us because we want the new office not to be solely an impressive space on the 31st floor. It should also tell the story of the company and the people who have created it over the years.

 

And what is the biggest highlight related to the move?

Probably the very fact that we currently work in the highest-located office in northern Poland is already quite a good highlight.

 

However, what we like most is a certain paradox of this move. We moved to an office with significantly less space, and at the same time we have the feeling that we gained more space to be together.

 

And perhaps the little things that cannot be planned when designing an office show this best. Recently, for an entire week, practically every day someone brought homemade cake to work. Seemingly nothing major, but it is precisely such situations that make the space come alive and become a bit more “ours.”

 

The new office simply better corresponds to what the workplace is for us in 2026. It does not have to be a daily obligation to remain an important element of company life. It should make it so that when we do decide to meet on site, we really want to stay a bit longer—even if sometimes the additional motivation is a piece of homemade cake.