How to Design an Open-Concept Office
Open-concept offices have become much more common, but with the extra space often comes the challenge of figuring out how to fill it in a functional and design-forward way. Here are three ways to maximize an open-concept office space.
Create Multiple Workstations
We designed Productboard’s open-concept office to feature communal desks and cozy lounge seating.
When working with vast empty space, the goal is to create little “neighbourhoods” mimicking what would exist in a conventional office. The most crucial of these neighbourhoods is where your team will be working.
Of course, many modern offices these days have multiple workstations, each with a different layout. Be sure to include a variety of options for your team to get work done, with enough space in between.
These workstations could look like a pod of six people with bench-style seating, long tables with panel dividers, phone booths, and a separate sofa lounge area where employees can grab their laptops and work away from the group in a more casual setting.
Movement has been proven to facilitate the mind, improve health and boost productivity, so it’s important to give teams the option to get up and change their work scenery.
Leverage Light in Interesting Ways
If your office has high or industrial ceilings, use them to manipulate lighting in an interesting way. Alongside general lighting, install stylish pendant lights or dangling light fixtures over key areas.
This also helps designate your various office “neighbourhoods”, from your central hub and “water cooler” space to the workstation or reception area.
Get Creative With Dividers
In a wide open space, there are several creative ways you can section off areas to accommodate your office’s functions and still have it look trendy. Greenery is perfect for this; use groupings of tall plants to divide an area, like a sofa lounge, from your core workstations. Greenery also doubles as an air purification system for the office long term.
When in doubt, furniture itself can act as a divider!
At allSPACES, we are experts at designing commercial spaces that not only incorporate the best in design innovations but that factor in your unique company culture and vision. Whether your office space is in need of a timeless upgrade, or you are looking for a new project built from the ground up, reach out to us!
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