Now that people can do so much of their work from home, the office has to earn it’s attendance by giving people a good reason to make the journey in. Offices that get used well share a few things: a sense of joy, good daylight, good acoustics and plenty of places to be social as well as other spaces to focus.
Start the brief from learning from people’s behaviour
The most useful opening question is how you want people to work, rather than how many desks you need to fit in. We design for that behaviour and let the headcount follow, because quiet focus, team sessions and conversations over lunch each need a different kind of space.
Acoustics and daylight
Acoustics matter more than most clients think, because a noisy open plan space is one of the quickest ways to send people back to their kitchen tables! Separating focus work from collaborative space, and giving each the right surfaces, makes a bigger difference than you may think. Daylight should shape the layout too, so we put the places people use most next to the windows instead of leaving the best light to chance.
Make it feel like somewhere
People notice how a place feels long before they notice the furniture specification, so materials, colour and comfort all count. Warm, honest materials that age well, a considered palette and good chairs make an office feel cared for, and people tend to return the favour. Keeping and adapting what is already there often gives a space more character than starting from scratch, and it treads more lightly on the planet too. At Weston Street in London Bridge, our office interior fit-out added colour, the warmth of birch plywood and a combination of break out spaces and more typical desks.
Our office fit-out page explains how we approach new and existing workplaces, and our guides to office fit-out costs and Cat A and Cat B fit-out cover the budget side.
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