Corporate identity is expressed through workspace Design. As Businesses are ever-changing in our modern world, it is vital as an Interior Design Studio designing commercial interiors are mindful of office trends. Workspaces need to attract young generations as well as accommodate the most seasoned experts into working alongside with up-to-date technology infrastructure and with health and safety in mind. By providing Design and Build services, we gather a unique set of skills to be able to help modernise any office space. Gathered below are the 5 current Design Office trends you will find in modern corporate offices in London.
1. Design for Mobility
Commercial interiors reflect the change in workplace practices. Because of globalisation, employees are more mobile than ever. Additionally, to support this trend, IT Information companies have built solutions to help people work more online and digitally (i.e. your work emails are now typically also accessible from any computer web browser or mobile phone). This means that more companies are offering flexible working to their employees because they can work with computer-based solutions. They can communicate with their colleagues via online chat, email, phone or video-phone regardless if their colleagues are sitting next to them or not. Therefore, companies put in place policies to allow their employees to either work flexible hours or to work from home regularly. Thanks to such systems, companies can save on office space which is hugely beneficial pricier rental cities such as London.
Another aspect of designing for mobility is the creation of Hot desk areas, where employees can use whenever they need to be in the office. Storage solutions have also significantly changed towards more streamlined solutions such as slimline pedestals to store fewer documents as most information is accessible digitally. Another type of storage has emerged nonetheless to enable mobility, and these are individually securely locked that hot desk employees use to ensure their valuables when they are not in the office. The type of problematics that Temza takes into consideration when working on a design and build project in London. Our interior designers take care of answering your workplace needs for a mobile workforce.
Image credit: Muuto Outline Highback Sofa
2. Design for Comfort and Ergonomics
A trend our interior designers have seen developing in the last few years are the creation of informal meeting areas to enhance creativity and collaboration between teams. A place described being more private than starting a spontaneous conversation with a colleague at their desk, yet less formal than calling a meeting.
Many companies are now seeing the benefits of more relaxed office design as people feel more comfortable to bring down virtual communication barriers.
Another aspect of increasing well-being and team collaboration is by making employees feel more satisfied with the usage of naturalism. Including greeneries and natural sunlight should be an integral part of the office design. Commercial interior designers frequently use natural finishes like wood to provides a calm element.
3. Design for Modern Ways of Working
We couldn’t talk about office design trends in London without mentioning IT and the virtualisation of work practices. Thanks to better communications tools, we are now able to work successfully with teams across the globe without even leaving the country. Moreover, working from home was something that was frown upon only ten years ago, but as computers, communication software and high-speed internet are adopted everywhere, working from home is becoming as seamless as working from the office. This introduces new office practices such as hotdesking: individuals do not have an allocated desk but an allocated area in the office for hotdesking. They come and occupy a desk, and then at the end of the day, they lock their belongings into their assigned locker. The idea is to offer flexible working to their employees who can work from home one to two days a week, save the company commercial interior, and enhance cross-team collaboration because employees will seat randomly daily.
4. Design with Acoustic solutions
Design and Build Acoustic panels to absorb sound and divide departments or areas in the office space is paramount.
For an open-space office, acoustic is a critical element. Experts in office design have flagged that open-space offices where acoustic is not placed at the centre of the office design, will eventually demotivate workers. Having to work close to each other and hear work and personal conversations at all time can be alienating. Hence, why individual acoustic pods, acoustic dividers, and desk acoustic panels are getting more and more popular. It is less formal than a wall divide but still aims to provide division. Most of the modern office equipment now offers an acoustic version. Flooring, especially carpet, can come reinforced with acoustic properties. Even desks can now provide acoustic properties with additional padding. This is found more and more throughout the Office design landscape in London. Our Betbull project provided some Hexa task chairs with acoustic solutions to sit down and facilitate concentration. Our interior designers thought this was a suited piece for the environment and space.
5. Design for Work, Rest & Play Areas
We discussed the working spaces, but places for rest and play also need consideration in a modern office space. Comfortable areas to rest, and read, eventually enable team collaboration. The current trend in the office is to offer areas for employees to create acoustic creative hubs for employees to collaborate and have informal meetings as opposed to the formal meeting setting of having to book a meeting room and sit together for a fixed agenda and schedule. Start-up companies believe that it creates more engaging discussion when the environment is not so formal.
If you’d like to read more about our complete hassle-free solutions for Commercial Design and Build in London, visit our Offices and Workspace page and transform your working environment.
Top picture creds: Kinnarps
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