Upgrading offices, just like our working models!
When picturing what an office of the future looks like, it brings people, work and the space in harmony with one another. Office designs now are a pure work of art. Gone are the days with doors shut or separated cubicles with faint fluorescent lights. Having switched to a working model that no one ever thought of, 2023 will witness office spaces they have never seen before. There are three major factors that are intertwined that have completely redesigned the office space as a place of content and opportunity.
- The digital economy has completely replaced the idea of brick-and-mortar
- Employees chose remote working & the productivity was unhampered
- Having an independent approach towards their career has shifted the power from the employers to the employees
If there is a curiosity about how workspace upgrading should look, this blog has got you covered. Martin Henn, the Managing Director of HENN Architecture has found a way to acknowledge these factors in order to synthesise them for the offices of the future.
Design workspaces for recreation
There are several ways in which a workplace can undergo a 180-degree transformation to set the perfect recreational mood. Some factors are:
- Use of colour psychology
- Adding natural elements
- Modern decor & aesthetics
- Ergonomic lounge spaces
Office designs now have an entirely new definition that spins around various concepts. Be it fitness-centric, biophilic, games and activities or anything around leisure. With such thematic experiences, corporate clients have been rather attracted to such natural setups with recreational vibes, especially in the tech industry. While working from home drew employees away from the work-as-lifestyle model. The idea is to keep the employees hooked to the idea: When the office is just as fun as home. But there is definitely scope for a more advanced level of architectural planning.
Working from urban high-street offices
With the liberty of working from anywhere possible, it becomes a calculated effort to come up with something that connects the private workspace and the social sphere. Considering the concept of “office urbanism”, it is time to connect offices to geographic locations via infrastructural integration which makes offices easier to work in. Better yet, if thinking of the office in itself as a city, to be able to be a part of all the urbanic activities. The offices would be more compact, decentralized and tap into existing means of networking, reducing the severity of office towers, substituting the public parks for office lounging rooms and assuring energy savings from shorter commutes and building footprints. Architects and designers will be more inclined to think differently and view workplaces as a part of the whole social setup.
Introduce high-performance offices
With potential implications for offices in the future, we need high-performance workspaces that entail an efficient, safe and work-forcused character. The workplace needs to be easily accessible, and at the disposal of its workforce. A high-performance office will incorporate the best of both worlds, the comfort of WFH and the community-culture of offices using technology and infrastructure. The idea would turn a typical office into a workshop for creativity and innovation. A great instance of the same would incorporate built-in interactive systems that run on-screen sensors acting as interfaces between locations and controlling everything from temperature, to lightning while charting interior arrangement. Making amenities operable from a distance will also cut down the division between the backend and the front office. When all the analogue & digital functions are in sync, offices will allow employees to transition smoothly between in-person and at home, calling for easy decision-making.
The changing times are asking for a culture of frolic and functionality. They are looking for spaces that are ready to accept and accommodate their style of work. Let’s just say the offices are the perfect blend of science, technology, psychology and aesthetics to add an extra flavour to the next workspace design.
References:
1. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-12/the-future-of-office-design-in-a-post-covid-world2. https://foyr.com/learn/modern-office-design-features-and-trends/