Office Design Ideas

Times are changing and these changes are reflected in the current trends in office design. Designers have to change their thinking away from traditional office designs and towards current trend. Office designers are seeing the following changes in the office environment:

1. Businesses are thinking more consciously about renewable resources and recycled furniture
2. They are becoming more collaborated
3. Offices are being used as a branding tool
4. The creation of offices with employees in mind has become crucial in employee retention rates
5. Hoteling/Moteling is much more popular

Office designers have noticed that societies environmental consciousness has transferred into our offices in a number of ways. Owners and managers know that energy costs are rising so there is a need to look for alternative energy sources. They have also seen an increase in the purchase and use of recycled furniture, which is a cheaper and more environmentally friendly way of furnishing their office.

Office collaboration means that offices are becoming more open plan with less offices and more cubicles or partitions. This type of office design means that space is being used to its maximum ability and owners are getting more for their money. It is useful in offices where there is a lot of team work as it brings people together. Office designers have seen the rise in popularity in partitioning which is a large element in the creation of office collaboration.

Office designers have also seen an increase in the number of companies who are now using their offices as a branding tool. The rising costs of everything have seen the need for businesses to look inwards for cost savings. Designers have seen an increase in businesses portraying themselves through creative, professional office designs. They send a message to visitors that reflect their business.

Employees are vital to the success of a business and managers and owners know that employee retention is a positive aspect of any business. Designers today are being asked more than ever to incorporate employee friendly designs into their workplace designs. This includes social areas, meditation/prayer rooms, games rooms, etc. Businesses are realizing that employee retention rates increase if people like where they work and feel appreciated.

Hoteling and Moteling is one of the latest design trends and are designed to cater to traveling employees who are not in the office full time. Hoteling and moteling allows these employees to reserve office space on an as needed basis. Designers have seen a huge increase in this type of office design and shows that businesses are accommodating all employees whilst reducing their additional office rental costs, as fewer offices are needed.

Updating an office fitout or provisioning a completely new office design is often both difficult and costly. We discuss within this article rudimentary design tips & expertise from the design & fitout industry that might assist in choosing an approach that induces the effective delivery of an office fitout project in accordance with agreed duration and budget demands:

Planning - possibly the most crucial task of any successful office design & fitout project. Don't hesitate to set aside enough time on planning as the more insight available, the less time will be wasted during more time & cost critical stages. A highly detailed understanding about your businesses current and forecasted staff demands, offices versus workstations configurations, as well as other needs including office reception areas, storeroom areas, conference & collaboration spaces, will help you vet would-be office space tenancies and receive design & fitout quotations in a considerably reduced timeframe, while giving you more control of your project;