The needs of todays business are having a major impact on office design
In today's competitive marketplace, interior design is playing an important role in business development.
But now, in this post-recessionary climate, decisions to move, renovate or to change business images are being made more carefully.
Interior designer Jennifer Stockford, director of design and production at Number Ten Design Group, says clients are more sophisticated when it comes to office design. 'More than ever (our) clients are aware of design issues and in how they want their clients to perceive them.'
The office of the '90s is increasingly complex. Leonie Glenat, design manager with Insite Design Consultants, says a lot of head office companies are reviewing cost-effective ways to manage office space and design. That view requires greater flexibility in the design and systems being used.
According to Glenat and other designers, designing for future changes has become a key factor in all their work.
For instance, Glenat says flexible wall systems are growing in popularity. It's now possible for a company to outfit an entire office, including lighting and carpeting, then pack it up and take it with them.
Glenat says, 'On the other end of the spectrum, there are those larger companies who are standardizing work station space to be suitable for 90 per cent of the people.'
She says when it comes time to change, it's the people who move, not the office.
If change is the basic premise, Debbie Grant, owner of James Duguay Associates Inc., says there are several more layers to add, making the design process more complex than ever. Bundled up in the aesthetics are factors such as technology, ergonomics, handicapped accessibility, health and environmental considerations.
'Businesses are restructuring their organizations and are looking at how people communicate and work together,' says Grant.
She says there is definitely more call for meeting rooms and not necessarily the traditional boardroom but rather smaller, more informal spaces or pods.
Grant describes one system that's likened to a wagon train around a campfire. The unit is a totally enclosed 45-square-foot circle, with smaller individual workstations and a common area in the centre. It's designed for team use within a larger area.
Another new space design is the smaller workspace, set aside for those people who come into the office once or twice a week. Their main office is at home and they are linked primarily by technology to the office.
Mia Kinal, a professional interior designer with Environmental Space Planning, says, less space is needed for the individual worker these days. Kinal says she's also seen an increase in the acceptance level of the need for furniture that fits. Quality office furniture, well-designed chairs and good lighting are all taken into consideration as preventative health measures.
'Lighting and posture and such things as carpal tunnel syndrome (a wrist injury allegedly related to computer keyboard usage) come into play,' says Darrell Sawatzky, an interior designer, with Environmental Space Planning.
Kinal and Sawatzky say growing numbers of companies are seeing quality offices are more productive places to work. Those elements are all part of the healthy office/environmental trend which has been growing across the U.S. and Canada.
Factors such as indoor air quality and the selection of products that won't further pollute the office environment have prompted the removal/reduction of elements like formaldehyde from materials. There's also a growing emphasis on reusable and recyclable products.
'People are starting to consider that perhaps they should spend a little more on something that can be recycled rather than something cheaper, both out of concern for the environment and in response to the potential for a disposal fee,' says Kinal.
Although disposal fees are not yet in place, Kinal says clients have been watching what's been happening in the U.S. for some time, and more recently in Ontario and B.C.
In addition, there's far more attention paid to such things as the types of materials used for furnishings. Mahogany desks are long gone, replaced with oak, maple or even aluminum work surfaces.
With all the changes - the need for flexibility, the need for group communication and the shrinking individual work station do the perks and hierarchy of office space and design still exist?
It all depends on the individual company. At certain companies, executive status is still reflected by office size, however, for others, position may not be reflected by office size but by paycheque.
Lydia Avery is a freelance writer based in Winnipeg.
