The paper discusses the research and developmental background for initiating a holistic “Cooperative Building” project named office VISION. The influence of the increasing global competition on organisational practices, information technological advances, research on cooperative work and its support and advances in energy and ecological technologies are discussed. The case of office VISION is presented. Office VISION is both a building, the framework for innovative office functionality and a complete consulting scheme for the office of the future. Within the office VISION project, we have initiated the development of 4 main themes: Sustainable working methods, democratic organisations, a healthy indoor environment and liberating cooperative technologies and new ways of organising work. Office VISION will be build in June 2000.