A Complete Guide to Designing an Office Space
What's in this post?
It is estimated that an average working adult spends one third of their life behind their work desk. So it follows that the workspace environment has a massive impact on the well being of employees and perception of their work life. Office space design has progressed beyond the typical workstation to a space that instils creativity, promotes collaboration, improves mood, over and above allowing users to perform focussed work. The design of the work space should provide a comfortable and fulfilling experience to users.
Before the pandemic, meetings meant appearing in person, working meant being at the office desk. But the Covid 19 pandemic turned the working world upside down, led it to evolve quickly to a culture of virtual work and generally modified the nature of office work by leaps and bounds all across the globe. Even as the virtual world was thriving and people were fast coping with the new normal, many were known to silently suffer from loneliness and lack of physical connections. When the virus died down, it reminded us of the unsung value of face to face interactions in the work space.
“Some of the best decisions, creative ideas and insights come from hallways, cafeterias and other informal settings. Staring at the monitor seldom brings out of the box results”
A hybrid working culture has now surfaced, that is, working from home interspersed with working out of office. Designs have to now be suitable to this hybrid setup, accommodate a whole range of new spaces to support the needs of the day. Spaces have to be suitable for meeting and collaboration in both online and offline modes, be able to cater to a multiplicity of functions and therefore be transformable. Office space design should also be able to adapt to new and unknown futuristic needs, by ensuring flexibility of floor plates. Contemporary trends in workspaces follow an open floor design with ample opportunity for collaborative work.
This article explores the qualitative approaches to designing an office space, and is the first of a series of posts on this theme.
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1. Creating the narrative
Each office is a unique system and has developed a certain culture reflecting the vision and philosophies of the parent organisation. Hence, the onus falls on the designers to first understand the thoughts behind the setup, the specific requirements for the said nature of work, the office culture, organisational structures, through conversation surveys or questionnaires. For example, does the office have a strong hierarchical structure and interaction is limited to private rooms? Does the manager interact with the employees on an open floor? What is the mode of work allocation, coordination and supervision? Do people like to meet in an informal garden setting? Designers may choose to interview employees informally to gain insights into their typical day at work, and further personalise design by seeking the one thing that they would like in their new office space.
Based on such a study, designers may conjure a narrative for the office that best reflects its culture. One may begin to decide the percentage of screened workspaces, semi private spaces and open collaborative spaces needed in the office design. From the perspective of users, one may design the quality of meeting spaces, and customise it to suit the scale and themes discovered through the study exercise. The workspace design should be in line with the brand identity and values of the company, promoting a sense of pride and ownership among employees
2. Designing for interactions
We have already discussed the importance of interactions in the office environment. Not only do designers have to allocate space for planned interactions, but also maximise the possibilities of chance encounters. The current trend in office space design follows an open floor design that maximises interaction in the transition spaces. Screened corridors hinder interactions whereas multipurpose corridors foster collaboration.
Designers can reimagine the activities and experiences while designing transition spaces. Corridors are not only movement but can double up as discussion spaces with pin up boards, standing tables. They can encourage informal conversation with a doodle desk or a seemingly unlimited wall space to brainstorm. Our brain requires creative engagement to trigger new idea formation, and the role of informal spaces in this regard cannot be stressed enough.
3. Workstation experience
Workstation design requires special care as it is a high utility space where maximum time is spent by users. They must be able to provide a comfortable and focussed work environment. Depending on the office style and employee needs, the level of privacy and screening between workstations can be customised. As a commonality, workstations have to be positioned to take advantage of the natural light and ventilation availability. Research suggests that availability of good views and natural lighting is the priority in ensuring employee satisfaction of their workstation. Ergonomic design to suit the body structure of workers is an essential requirement.
“Controlled lighting and views can improve occupant well-being, workplace productivity, and satisfaction by positively influencing various physiological and psychological processes. Lighting and views also impact property value and employee recruitment and retention.”
Paul et al, University of Oregon, The Impact Of Lighting And Views On The Workplace Of The Future
What does your approach to office space design look like? Do you start with sketches on paper or 2D drawings on a CAD tool? Or do you prefer exploring design options in 3D? Whatever your workflow is, you can use Snaptrude to supercharge your design process. On Snaptrude, you can start with any kind of base file, even a Revit model. Snaptrude helps you expedite testfits with automated area and capacity calculations and an extensive built-in library of workspace furniture. Detail your design in Snaptrude’s BIM environment with powerful, smart layout tools. Close deals in record time by collaborating with your clients on the web.