We blame Google for raising our expectations on what the cool office should look like. But thank goodness we don’t have to go through the company’s rigorous application to get a taste of unconventional offices. Here in the metro, Jeroen van Straten has built one himself.

The Dutch businessman’s headquarters is a 300-plus-square-meter space in Quezon City that’s laid out like a box with no walls. In place of walls are large bookcases with see-through brackets that act as dividers between his businesses’ different departments.

This was a conscious choice to invite camaraderie. “You should be part of the people, part of the team,” Jeroen explains. “I kept this open for a reason: Everybody should be able to approach everybody.” Separated only out of necessity are a pantry—for obvious reasons—and a formal boardroom that he admittedly prefers not to use.

“The word [boardroom] alone I don’t like! I’d rather hold my meetings out here,” said Jeroen, who also admits to not ever wearing a suit in his lifetime.

Another thing to note is his office’s transitioning carpet color, which, he explains, is to “distinguish the space [that’s both his and everybody else’s] at the same time.” Jeroen muses, “I don’t want the employees to be scared to approach me. They shouldn’t fear the boss.”

And why the heck should we when the only other thing that scares us is a naughty gnome (a novelty item from one of his travels) that blends in the bookshelves as it flashes a finger?

Click on the slideshow to see glimpses of his cool space!

Source: Angela Manuel Go for Red, “Against the Wall,” June 2015.

Photos by Patrick Segovia