Offices for the collective and the individual
Komfort Partitioning - Komfort
In line with the WELL Building Standards and changing workplace needs, leading companies and designers are rethinking their office layouts.
With so much time spent away from the office and workplace, it is the perfect opportunity to reflect and revaluate how best to design offices, with consideration for the people who will use them at the heart. With so many of us now acutely aware of how adept we are at working from home, how offices function in the future will determine who is willing to commute to and engage with their office space.
The vision of office design has always adapted with the changes, priorities and viewpoints of our environment, and this post-pandemic shift is an exciting journey to be a part of. The last decade has seen open-plan offices dominate the sector and the benefits, productivity and efficiency of these working spaces have now been put into question.
With the majority of us working from home over the last 12 months, the future of office design will undoubtedly adopt some of the key principles of this style of working. At Komfort, we anticipate that future offices will include aesthetics that reflect some of the comforts of home, with soft furnishing, warming tones and also the option for quieter dedicated spaces. The division of space for different activities will also be a key design principle to consider, as well as having less dedicated space for individual desks and more collaborative and interactive areas which our homes simply can’t deliver.
We are already seeing designers adapt. Creating spaces around activity-based tasks to meet both individual and collaborative requirements, rather than a one solution fits all design. To engage, focus and encourage collaboration between employees, workplaces require quiet and private spaces to be solitary, as well as captivating places to collaborate, and everything in between. From this, leading companies are rewriting the rules and adapting open-plan offices to focus on wellbeing, happiness and productivity.
In support of the changing demands of a workplace, a recent Oxford Economics article discovered that millennials hugely value spaces to concentrate and deliver good work, with 65% of millennials confirming that blocking out noise increases their productivity. Together with 71% also commenting that the ability to interact with co-workers was very important to them, there is a clear need to divide spaces in a creative way to serve all preferences.
It has equally never been more important to reassure and create safe boundaries within the minds of the occupants. Looking after our health and wellbeing is an absolute priority for us all, and employers need to demonstrate that they value this above all else. Dividing spaces using glass for example, will unquestionably help to engage and reassure your occupants.
Using their market knowledge and product expertise, Komfort has introduced their Kube range to respond to these needs. A series of pods and booths suited for any commercial space, designed to accommodate different working styles, individual wellbeing and safety. This allows open-plan offices to dedicate spaces for uninterrupted work, phone calls, downtime, hot-desking, interviews and collaborative work away from the distractions of the wider office.
The Kube range has been designed to provide designers with a comprehensive and flexible range of pod and booth options, with a stylish and modern design aesthetic that would sit in any high spec interior space. The Kube pods incorporate acoustic materials, LED mood lighting and air circulation. With advanced technology and intelligent design, the pod systems stay light, airy and fresh, yet provide the ultimate privacy.
In a recent office refurbishment project in central London, the Komfort Kube range was installed throughout. The range was specified to meet the flexible working requirements of offices today. As the client moved away from open-plan layouts, the Kube range allowed for simple installation and adaptability, all whilst encouraging collaboration and intimacy.
Future workplaces need to bring together the needs of the individual and the collective, incorporating agility in working styles and user experience at the heart. Whilst the return to the workplace will be gradual, it will be filled with optimism, productivity and positivity.