Valentyns is a bold new blueprint for the modern workplace, fusing high-end design with cutting-edge wellness
There’s not a pot plant in sight at Valentyns, a wellness-based office concept in Cologne dreamt up by entrepreneur Ferdinand Stahl. In place of abundant greenery, calming tones and other typical mood-boosting office features, there’s an ice-cold plunge bath and a basement gym that bathes your physical efforts in a Blade Runner-esque red light. This is not wellness as a nice distraction from emails or an end-of-day reward. This is (in a very German way) about efficiency. Keeping body and brain optimised for productive work. “Time is money if you’re a professional,” says Stahl. “If you want to get in a flow state, you need a perfect environment that doesn’t distract you.”
Portrait by Marc Krause
The inclusion of an ice bath on the shared office building’s dedicated wellness floor is down to the Wim Hof school of thought – that cold-water immersion can improve focus and energy levels, among other health benefits. Two saunas and a studio with classes in yoga and breathwork are also offered to workspace members to prime the body at the start of the day. Even beauty treatments here are science backed, with hydrafacials and IV drips on the menu to condition and recharge. “It’s very convenient to have these in-house,” says Stahl. “If a meeting gets cancelled, you can get on the treadmill for a spare 10 minutes or see the personal trainer. Whatever you need individually.”
The decision to make wellness the focus of Valentyns is evidence-based, too. Stahl saw the opportunity to offer small and medium-sized businesses the kind of perks usually enjoyed by employees of large tech companies, noticing their positive effects on attraction and retention. “We want people to spend a lot of time here, for company owners to get the best talent and for them to be motivated,” he adds. “One of our tenants is a sports data start-up, which reported 40 per cent fewer sickness days since being here.”
The model caters to a generation of workers for whom wellbeing is more important than salary. Serious reads on health and longevity are scattered over the coffee tables here, rather than photo books or glossy magazines. The compact scale of this multi-storey 1960s building along the Rhine can’t compete with the amenities of a giant Silicon Valley campus, but the boutique nature is part of its appeal. Membership is capped at 150 to create a close-knit community that won’t prove distracting. The number has been suggested by anthropologist Robin Dunbar as the maximum set of relationships a human can meaningfully retain. Among the 43 private offices and six meeting rooms are five small well-equipped kitchens, rather than a huge canteen. There’s also no co-working space, which is again down to promoting focus.
“Even the architecture of an office can be a little bit annoying and distracting,” says Stahl, who turned to his mentor and uncle Thomas van den Valentyn to design a calm and controlled set of spaces (from whom the concept also gets its name). Adapting the building floor by floor as the existing tenants gradually moved out, the architect has brought back some of its original appeal with a stripped-back concrete core, delicately filled in by glass partitions. Where many post-Covid-era office designs borrow soft details from hospitality and homes, Valentyns leans into icons from the office’s mid-century heyday. Furniture includes Thonet coat stands, Fritz Hansen chairs, Lampe Gras wall lights, USM Haller desks and Eileen Gray side tables. Contemporary tech has been integrated too, with sit-stand desks, acoustic materials and blinds that adjust at the touch of a button.
Members can also use the building’s bespoke app to conjure up a concierge to deliver coffee, fruit or water, to print a document or set up a meeting room moments before clients arrive. Though the wellness amenities are undoubtedly a wow factor for tenants, it’s these friction-free moments that add up to what Stahl believes workers want most from a physical office. The entrepreneur is already planning a second location in Bonn and has his eyes on future expansion to other cities. His exacting vision, which might seem a little extreme to those who prefer a more convivial workplace, certainly stands out in the competitive market for serviced offices. For now, Valentyns’ main advantage might be its appeal to small and medium-sized enterprises based in a smaller city, or the larger company seeking a satellite base. As major office providers seek the security of large tenants and freelancers remain transient in these uncertain economic times, going after the middle ground might be, in true Valentyns style, the most efficient move to make.
Photography by Felix Speller
This story was originally featured in OnOffice 173, Winter 2025. Discover similar stories by subscribing to our weekly newsletter here
