Years ago the general approach to designing an office space is enclosed, individualistic and takes into consideration the weight of the positions. The manager prefers a room of his own, team leaders in high partitioned frames and the staff in their own enclosed and low-height cubicles.
Surprisingly, as years pass the idea of an open and interactive workplace is starting to become a trend. Most especially to creative and start-up companies who very much value social connection and engagement.
Yes, pretty much a dream come true for us Interior Designers. An exciting and new road to designing an office.
As diverse as it may seem an open layout may be a breath of fresh air but can be really tricky when considered. Some designers and owners may have gone too far which resulted to hurting the productivity and the very core of the culture the company wants to build.
As an Interior Designer, we would want to champion an office design that not only looks amazing but also makes the most efficient use of a space at the same time creates a workspace that shifts from ME to a WE environment.
Objective: To create an environment that supports creative exchange of viewpoints, small unplanned meetings, project teamwork and offers maximum productivity
SPACE-PLANNING Ideally an open layout means no defined property boundaries and more transparencies. We want to make the Manager still feel like a manager but allow him the opportunity to engage with his team, to see the staff collaborate with their teammates and rewarding them with a workplace of utmost solitude and focus.
Three things, 1. You have to understand how the company works (in general and on the daily basis) 2. The function of each departments to one another 3. The perfect balance of what the client wants and needs versus the Designers perspective
Managers and Staff Area per department
In this layout, managers and staff are in the same cloud but are defined by the partitions and how they were positioned yet giving them a good opportunity to collaborate.
DESIGN CONCEPT It is so easy to formulate a design concept. There is a million option to choose from but as I have mentioned we have to be careful not to overdo as this is an office not a playhouse nor your personal home.
We sometimes tend to mix 10 or more design styles just because we feel excited and creative juice just does not stop flowing, unless the concept the client wants is inspired by the google x the bullpen office x Starbucks x Scandinavian design all rolled into one, we have to learn to tame ourselves.
Usually, Owners and Designers go for a Modern design. Simple, Raw, Airy and Straight-forward, But as a designer we always want to put that touch that makes the space special, we want to be able to create a place where it feels like you are productively working at the very luxury of your home.
One of my favorite concept is Industrial Contemporary, I personally like how the cold and warm finishes mix which results to an impressive well designed concept.
In a nut shell: Provide a space that respects the very core of how the office functions but add a sense of variety by making the office space an exciting place to work, be creative and collaborate.
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