A black box with pegboards for walls forms the centrepiece of this Chicago office renovated by Australian studio Those Architects, which also includes a batting cage for baseball breaks.

The renovated workplace was designed for financial services firm Ansarada, and encompasses 800 square metres. It occupies the fifth floor of a former industrial warehouse building.

The original structure was not heritage listed, which gave the studio flexibility to create an assortment of unusual features.

"We were able to insert some substantial architectural elements into the space that enabled us to better establish functional zones throughout this project," said Those Architects director Ben Mitchell.

A key component of this fit-out is the insertion of a central plywood box that defines public and private areas of the office. Enclosed within this volume are utility spaces, as well as a private reading room and conference space.

Its oak plywood walls are stained black and pierced with hundreds of thousands of holes. "The peg holes enable staff to utilise the entire surface in myriad of ways," said the firm.

"Brushed solid brass pegs sleeve perfectly into the holes and are used for anything from writing your colleague a message to hanging a coat," they added.

One unusual amenity the architects included in the scheme is a full-scale batting cage and pitching machine, located in a corner of the floor plan adjacent to the main work area.

"The batting cage is a nod to the project's location in Chicago," explained the firm.

One side of the central volume is reserved for informal uses and contains a reception area, kitchen, meeting lounge, and cafe.

"The recreation and informal meeting rooms are located kitchen-side of the black box with a jaw-dropping view of the Chicago skyline," said the studio.

The opposite side contains a series of individual workstations for more focused work, all acoustically separated from one another.

Baseball cages are not the only unusual feature to be included in recent office designs.

Dutch firm Space Encounters added greenhouse meeting rooms to a renovated-warehouse office in Amsterdam, while Shanghai studio Team_Bldg recently completed an office featuring a staircase suspended from one side of a bookcase.