4 Essential Design Choices for Contemporary Offices
2020 has had a profound impact on the way we work and, as a consequence, the way that we want our workplaces to look going forward. While some professions will perhaps never see a return to desks and conference rooms, most companies agree that offices still hold an important place in the business world—whether this be as a central hub to foster collaboration, or as a useful way to demarcate between our professional and personal lives.
Our clients at Intelligent Glass have taken a proactive approach to the post-pandemic era of work and workspaces, finding innovative solutions to protect the health and wellbeing of their employees without compromising on productivity. They’ve inspired us to take a wider look at contemporary office design, and what this might look like in the future. Below, we list four of the top office design trends, before exploring how you can achieve these looks within your own office
Dynamic Workplaces
Workplaces must remain adaptable in both design and amenities—this goes a long way to accommodating your employees’ variety of working styles and preferences. This in turn helps employees be their most productive selves, which is imperative if you want your company to fulfil its potential.
Movable partitions, rearrangeable desks, and light-to-carry soft seating all help staff adapt their office environment according to their changing working styles. An easy way to achieve this is to have movable glass partitions, such as our PPE Switchable Smart Glass Safety Screen, which allow you to blend the need for safety, privacy, and style. Switch from private, focus-oriented desks with opaque screens to translucent ones that invite collaboration without compromising on current workplace safety guidelines.
A touch of nature
More and more offices are embracing lush green walls filled to the brim with plants (whether real or fake). Not only are plants in the workplaces an aesthetic enhancement, but they’re also proven to be a mood booster—making the office feel significantly less industrial.
Officially, this is called biophilic design. Biophilic design uses direct natural elements (such as plants and water), as well as indirect elements (such as earth tones) to make your office a significantly nicer place to spend 40 hours a week. What’s not to love?
The best of both worlds
Open-plan offices are by and large the norm nowadays—allowing management to foster collaboration while also keeping an eye on operations. That much is obvious. However, there’s another obvious truth: office workers don’t like them. A study featured in The New Yorker states that workers in open office environments feel like they cause uncontrolled (and often unwelcome) interactions, no noise control, higher levels of stress, and lower levels of concentration.
So how can you blend the need for team-wide observation without causing productivity to plummet? We recommend finding a nice contemporary balance by using ‘closed-off’ spaces within an open-plan office, giving workers a choice between collaborative open work floors and private spaces for meetings and focus.
By integrating switchable glass technology, you can create sectioned-off areas of meeting rooms that switch from opaque to clear in a matter of seconds. This allows you to retain the look and feel of the ‘open office’ along with the ability to switch to privacy, to create a more controlled environment when necessary.
But that’s not all. As well as providing visual privacy, our Sound Insulating Acoustic Switchable Glass also allows you to soundproof private catch-ups—making it ideal for board meetings, executive meetings, or confidential HR meetings. The glass, consisting of a sound insulating inter-layer sandwiched between two pieces of glass and integrated with switchable PDLC technology, ensures that meetings stay not only private, but are also undisturbed by sounds or disturbances from the rest of the office floor.
Integrating smart glass technology and innovative design makes it easier to achieve the best of both worlds in an open office environment: free-flowing, collaborative desk layouts as well as instant privacy when needed.
A little bit of sci-fi
Believe it or not, you can go further than simply making our smart glass clear or opaque. With our Interactive Switchable Smart Glass Protection Screen, you can combine Intelligent Glass’s innovative switchable smart glass technology with Pro Display’s stunning touchscreen capabilities: making it the ideal tool for presentations and workshops.
Embrace transformation in 2021
The workplace will perhaps never be the same. As we flock back into the offices, think about how you can embrace the four essential design choices for contemporary offices listed above. Consider how you can make your office space smarter, more productivity-boosting, safer, and generally a more pleasant place in which to spend your workdays.
If you’d like to hear more about our range of innovative solutions, get in touch today.