The COVID-19 health emergency has accelerated the design process exponentially, pushing companies to respond to new, emerging needs with intelligent and functional strategies, whilst adopting innovative ways to reconnect with the world and make a difference. Moreover, the goal and great merit of the designers lies in the ability to grasp the trends and changes of the eras they live in, and convert them into objects and ideas.
The reopening of public places is the driving force behind the latest challenge designers face - to completely rethink common places in order to recreate new spaces, where all the design elements are in harmony with each other and in which the emotional component reflects the same sense of security and "feeling at home" sensation. All of this is done by involving the consumer in a very conscious way. Enough with the banal and unaesthetic plexiglass plates, we must uncover more client-friendly alternatives!
Whilst COVID-19 is bringing increasing attention towards health and wellness related issues which affect all sectors from food, retail and furnishings to travel and beauty, social attitudes towards sustainability and environmental factors is also still gaining momentum. New products and environments will be strongly influenced by the principles of the Circular Economy, based on concepts such as sharing, reusing, repairing and recycling existing materials and products, abandoning the bad habit of disposable use.
In public places consumers want to feel protected and "safe", for this reason working environments will have to be organised according to some guidelines.
After months of lockdown, it's important to return to the workplace feeling at ease and be encouraged to act responsibly. A six feet office has fixed workstations, semi-isolated or limited by graphics that visually delimit the space, making the safety distances perceived. The periods of ongoing isolation at home have questioned societies habits, encouraging them to seek more and more balance between private life and work life - and will be increasingly eager to work in an environment that reflects the home environment, in colours, furnishings and perfumes.
They must have a partially insulated entrance that acts as a filter with respect to the rest of the room where you can carefully sanitise your hands, deposit your clothes and wear disposable shoe covers. In this regard, Samsung has created AirDresser, a sanitising cabinet that eliminates bacteria, mites and viruses through steam jets.
The menu will be contactless and digital: with the Sooneat app, every customer from their smartphone can avoid the queue at the entrance, sit at the reserved table, consult the menu, photos of the dish, order and pay with a simple click.
Speaking of tables and chairs ... how will they be organised? Large-sized restaurants will have the opportunity to rearrange the tables according to the safety distances provided, but what about small restaurants? To one of my clients I proposed a shaped table top to be screwed simply to the existing table structure, optimising the space compared to combining two square modules.
It will also be very important to reorganise the outdoor spaces. It will be one of the most important missions of restaurants and bars to guarantee an experience up to the past again.
The visit to the hairdresser and beautician will be much more psychological than one might expect, it will be a 360° wellness and beauty experience with customisable treatments and mainly green products, all bookable through an app. New restyling for waiting rooms where possible, with modular furnishing solutions that are able to maintain a minimum contact between customers but respecting the safety distance. The image represents a typical Martex furniture solution before and after Covid-19. The furnishings can be adapted according to needs and are covered with 100% antibacterial fabric.
This post is part of a series exploring the ways that the health emergency of Covid-19 has changed the way we conceive public and private spaces. Click here to read the previous post about private spaces.
About the Author
Elisabetta de Strobel is an internationally acclaimed Interior Designer and Art Director, originally from Rome. Her studio offers expert consultation services for interior design, product design, branding and strategic market analysis.
If you'd like to become SBID Accredited, click here to find out more.
SpeakEasy with Geoff Wilkinson
In this episode of the SBID podcast series, SBID founder, Vanessa Brady, talks garage conversions with Geoff Wilkinson, Managing Director of Wilkinson Construction Consultants.
Despite the easing of lockdown measures, our daily lifestyles may never be the same. As lifestyle patterns continue to shift, and we've had plenty of time to re-assess our new working environments and re-consider what is important in our homes, the need for functional and comfortable home offices comes to the forefront.
Finding that all-important extra space can be a challenge, but construction specialist, Geoff Wilkinson shares his expert advice and outlines some of the important considerations to bear in mind if you're thinking of turning an old garage into a usable office space!
From discussing planning permission practicalities and insurance to ventilation and window fittings, Vanessa provides a unique, professional perspective on converting garages with respect to achieving effective interior design that is compliant and fit-for-purpose.
Tune in to the whole conversation to discover more.
“Design is important because chaos is so hard.” Often quoted in the design community, this line from American satirist Jules Feiffer has never felt so relevant. We are living in a time of great uncertainty and we are all feeling overwhelmed and anxious. But this is only temporary. Eventually we will begin to reoccupy our shared spaces and start getting back to work and school, even visit museums and movie theatres.
As we move forward, the world is going to need the design community to help everyone feel safe and assured – particularly in our workspaces. “This isn’t going to last forever, but it will change the way we experience our built environment, in both the short and long term” says Inger Bartlett, founder of Toronto interiors studio Bartlett & Associates. “We need to be here to help our clients find effective ways to manage new expectations within their existing interiors. We also need to treat this as an opportunity to explore, innovate, and deliver even more adaptable workspace for the future.”
So what does the post-COVID 19 office look like?
Do we replace the ubiquitous water cooler with a hand-washing station? Will we gather (six feet apart) around the sanitiser dispenser to compare notes on the weekend? Perhaps. There are definitely changes on the horizon, but the good news is that we already have some highly favourable frameworks in place. Inger has long specialised in the design of workspace and is confident that the open office remains here to stay. “The recent trend towards Agile Workspace Design has left many of our clients with incredibly flexible open offices,” she explains. “These spaces are already built to adapt to constantly changing needs, to put people at ease and let them work in a way they feel comfortable.”
Providing Flexibility with Agile Workspaces
For example, the modular open breakouts and Town Hall gathering spaces that are essential elements in agile space will provide the flexibility to maintain physical distancing and still bring groups of employees together. And that interaction is something people will crave after weeks in isolation. In fact, an increased desire to connect and collaborate is one of the silver linings to be found in this crisis. Sharing this challenge is reminding us that we are strongest when we work together!
Mill St Offices
Edelman
Bartlett & Associates designed Agile Workspace for Edelman and Mill Street, both of which complement open office areas with small meeting rooms. Though these rooms will be ideal for accommodating virtual meetings, which we can expect to continue when we return to work.
Though we won’t be packing our existing meeting rooms to the same densities as before, they still have an important role to play. Workforces will emerge from isolation with improved technological capabilities. A higher level of comfort with using digital communication tools will mean these spaces are used as much for virtual meetings as face-to-face. They may also be used to accommodate small teams, as we look to distribute workforces.
Volaris
McCann
League
Breakout zones, such as the high-backed booths featured at McCann, the modular lounges at League and the cozy armchairs at Volaris, offer the option to maintain distance in small meetings. Alternatively, these can become temporary workstations when redistributing people in an open office.
New Ways of Zoning and Interacting
Free-desking or hotelling is likely to fall out of favour. As most clients emerge from this situation with new capabilities for remote work, the Bartlett team predicts this will lead to more rotating work-from-home systems, rather than more workstations, and new ways of zoning space. “Keeping teams that collaborate frequently together in a designated space is one preventative measure to limit the number of unnecessary interactions and potential spread of viruses,” Inger suggests. Should clients wish to define areas for these teams, B|A is ready to offer solutions to reallocate space, reorganise work groups, or introduce design tools such as partitions to modify interactions. We can develop design concepts that support individual corporate protocols for keeping workplaces safe. And by implementing visible changes we can help employees feel confident that their wellbeing is being protected.
While existing flex spaces will help us maintain some degree of distancing for as long as necessary, for the longer view six-foot-wide-by-36-inch-deep workstations could become a new standard for the open office; those dimensions would allow six feet of space between seated employees. Extendable partitions could also come into play for future preparedness: When issues rise, so does the screen.
Sage
Spacious lunchrooms, lounges, and Town Halls will also provide the flexibility to meet in groups and enable social interaction while still maintaining physical distancing.
Additional Health & Security Measures
Some of the biggest changes will be at the landlord level. Enhanced HVAC and air purification systems will be of interest and sanitation protocols will be of more concern to tenants. Entering an office tower could become a process akin to passing through airport security: some buildings will implement screening protocols that include temperature scans and ID checks. In order to prevent these processes from becoming too invasive, intimidating or time-consuming, designers will need to create dedicated spaces that are comfortable, inviting, attractive, and efficient.
Crown Lobby, 5255 Yonge St
The artful screen that defines Bartlett & Associates’ Crown Lobby project could help designate the elevator bay as a secure area. Entering an office tower such as this may become a process akin to passing through an airport. Flexible amenity space could be re-positioned as security zones, where temperature and ID checks occur before visitors and employees can access upper floors.
Utilising Hands-free Technology
New touch-free, voice-activated technologies could quickly replace current systems, particularly in reception areas–where we have already started to see digital systems take over–and in elevators. That’s not to say we anticipate losing the tactility of our spaces. An interior designer’s knowledge and understanding of finishes will be invaluable in creating safer workspaces that remain warm and inviting. Another positive outcome of this crisis is the innovation it is sure to inspire –we can expect new products, new materials and designers need to push for those and contribute to their development.
Selection of Materials and Surfaces
In the meantime, we must implement more seamless surfaces, antimicrobial fixtures and coatings, washable fabrics, and other finishes that are easy to maintain and durable enough to stand up to frequent sanitisation. “There are a lot of transferrable lessons to learn from healthcare design right now, in terms of surfaces, textiles and even furniture,” Inger says. “And that’s not a bad thing. Our offices are not going to end up looking like sterile hospitals. This situation presents a unique opportunity for different sectors to work together to find the best solutions. We are going to come out of this with stronger, more resilient communities and more beautiful projects.”
Bartlett & Associates is dedicated to innovation and excellence in interior design, incorporating creative design solutions across hospitality, workplace, retail, institutional and speciality projects.
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features the complete transformation of the lobby area of a 30-year-old office tower. Once a series of dark, awkward spaces lacking in a clear axis or flow of movement, the lobby is now a bright and airy volume defined by a graphic screen that emphasizes 30-foot-high ceilings. Toronto designers Bartlett & Associates were commissioned to reimagine the space as a welcoming amenity that would attract a stable of noteworthy new tenants. The design team took an architectural approach to the project; removing a disused storage space made way for a public café, while the custom-designed screen was added to anchor the front desk and delineate the elevator bay. The striking black sculptural screen plays off against a dazzling white wall with a surface of subtle peaks and architectural texture.
Practice: Bartlett & Associates
Project: Crown Lobby – 5255 Yonge Street
Location: Toronto, Canada
What was the client's brief?
The mandate from our client, Crown Realty, was to reposition a dated office tower’s lobby for the 21st century. The building is right on Toronto’s north Yonge Street, a prime location that offered the potential to create a significant destination. Crown wanted a space that would inject new vitality into this rather tired building and position it as a desirable location for a more vibrant class of tenant. Our design transformed the lobby from an uninspiring entrance to an energetic amenity that makes a compelling impression on visitors – including prospective leaseholders.
What inspired the interior design of the project?
It’s the challenges of a project that typically inspire the best ideas and in this case we were dealing with a modest budget and an awkward space that was completely covered – all the floors, all the walls – in a very dated and dull granite. Tearing it out was cost-prohibitive, so the new surfaces were something we put a lot of thought into. Nature is also a constant source of inspiration for us and adding biophilic elements is something we try to do with all of our projects. As we spend more and more time in our urban office buildings, immersed in digital worlds, it feels increasingly important to make those connections to nature wherever possible. This is often achieved through very subtle interventions, but with this project the scale of the space presented an ideal opportunity to do something big – something a bit more direct, really impactful. So of course that was the screen, and beyond that we used a lot of wood- and stone-look low-profile surfacing that was applied right over the granite to avoid spending a lot of time and money on demolition and to avoid creating a lot of waste.
What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?
Resolving the awkwardness of the space while keeping the budget in check was huge. Originally the effect of the high ceilings was all but obliterated by this bulkhead wall that sort of cinched the walls inwards about a third of the way up. It loomed over the elevator bay, feeling very heavy with its stone cladding, and made that space feel a bit ominous. And then the corridor running off the east wall was this dark, narrow tunnel – it was all very uninviting. In the end we tore out a single short, angled wall to open up the corridor and make space for a public café. Then the screen was an amazing solution that both masks that bulkhead and transforms the elevator bay into a cozy little annex. Walking behind the screen to access the lifts offers this sense of discovery, which is a much nicer way to start your work day than trudging through a dark hall. Overall it feels like a cohesive sequence of usable space now, rather than a patchwork of hallways that were strictly for moving through, not for stopping or spending time in.
What was your team’s highlight of the project?
The screen is definitely the highlight for us – it won an award for the project before the space was even finished and it was also reimagined as an installation piece for the Design TO festival, which is part of Toronto’s Design Week in January. It’s obviously a stunning feature that is also functional, but there is a bit of hidden genius going on there as well: Not only does it hide that awkward bulkhead, but it’s actually supported by a mounting system originally installed for the granite cladding. Most of the granite was left intact and simply covered with low-profile materials, but by removing a bit of stone from the bulkhead, we were able to avoid creating customized brackets to hold the screen. That was a big cost-saver and just one of those eureka moments that you want to have on every project.
Questions answered by Inger Bartlett, lead designer and president, Bartlett & Associates.
We hope you feel inspired by this week's Office design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire
If you missed last week's Project of the Week featuring a contemporary loft apartment situated above the famous Soho Theatre, click here to see more.
This March is all about employee appreciation! As work environments are one of the biggest factors companies are addressing to make sure their workplaces are designed with wellbeing in mind to help keep staff happy and healthy at work, we're sharing a selection of our favourite projects from the SBID Awards 2019 with inspirational office designs!
The design concept for the project focuses on combining industrial-chic style elements with a cosy ‘Soho House’ residential vibe and contemporary workspace, with an added tech-y feel. 5mm Design introduced the concept of zoning to the space, and each zone was named after a continent and assigned a colour. The design theme is translated into the space through furniture upholstery fabric, pop culture and illustration wall art that reflect the continent; the use of different plant species in each zone; and the naming of meeting rooms after artists from that particular continent. The zoning concept, combined with the introduction of breakout areas, and the collaborative shared work island act as the firm’s engine room. This is a fresh workspace that improves productivity through design and encourages different teams to interact and socialise together.
An art déco decorative style combines with the cultural customs of old Shanghai and contemporary features to create a modern and stylish urban space. With blue and orange colours merging into the geometry of the flooring tiles, the space is charged with a stately, luxurious feel. The organic, fan-shaped and radiating elements of art déco are combined with walnut, black and gold marble, monochrome wood and other materials in the furniture to compliment the aesthetic. This creates a look that perfectly suits the preferences and taste of the urban elite.
Rockwell Group’s design concept for Warner Music Group’s new headquarters celebrates the record company’s history, its vast catalogue of work, music making, and performance. Bright, contemporary, and concise workspaces span across the five-storey main building and an adjoining two-storey annexe. The contrast of old and new, hard and soft, and warm and cool materials creates a dynamic, future-forward home base for WMG’s 800 employees.
Squire & Partners designed this first social workspace and private members’ club by Ministry of Sound as the antithesis to a nightclub environment. Housed in a former Victorian printworks in London, light-filled flexible workspaces for 850 people are as suited to morning coffee and lunch meetings as evening networking and social events. A concept of ‘premium raw’ was established, with stripped-back raw elements of the existing building contrasted with a layer of premium finish including refined furniture, artwork and lighting. The bold aesthetic delivers a distinctive and desirable offer for different sized organisations and pushes the boundaries of current workplace culture. Combining the creative and social aspects of a members’ club with dynamic workspace for those in music, film, arts, fashion and technology sectors, the aim was not just to offer a place to do business, but to provide an environment for a convivial and creative way of life.
Uncommon is a flexible workspace provider, whose spaces are carefully designed to make its members work smarter, not harder. Using innovative design inspired by activity-based working (ABW), carefully curated ergonomic furniture, biophilia and sensory elements, Uncommon aims to deliver a holistic and mindful experience. With four unique spaces across London, Uncommon draws inspiration from Italian and Scandinavian design, with rich textures and tonal colours handpicked to help stimulate productivity, promote wellness and evoke creativity in its members. Located within an exclusive gated development, Uncommon Fulham offers 26,000 square foot of flexible workspace arranged over four floors; perfect for entrepreneurs and freelancers, start-ups and long-established businesses. Uncommon Fulham is adorned with a warm and muted colour palette, enhanced with hand-selected ergonomic furniture from Italy and over 500 living plants including a striking 3.3-metre Ficus nitida tree.
From the tiny cubicles and bland colour schemes of the early 2000s to the ping-pong tables and sleeping pods of modern times, the interior design of offices has evolved dramatically in the past 20 years. At the beginning of a new year, and the start of a new decade, the focus of office interior design is shifting once again. Office interior design is now becoming more and more centred around the wellbeing of staff members.
Work is one of the biggest causes of stress in adults. In fact, national statistics from 2019 state that 602,000 people suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2018/19 and 12.8 million workdays were lost due to the same reasons.
The rise of work-related stress and the emphasis on the importance of mental health has caused many businesses to re-evaluate the way in which they support their staff. Many businesses are aiming to actively improve the health and wellbeing of their employees.
Although improving the wellbeing of staff through interior design is not a new concept, it is becoming a very popular one. The working environment has a huge impact on the health and wellbeing of employees. A quality workspace that’s designed with health and wellbeing in mind can boost moods, increase productivity, reduce stress levels and nurture a positive atmosphere.
Natural Lighting Is Essential
Sunlight is good for our health. Our body needs Vitamin D, sunlight and a supply of fresh air daily to release endorphins and serotonin – the chemicals that boost our mood and give us energy.
However, for office workers, spending eight hours a day indoors is often unavoidable, which is why it is important to expose your office to as much natural daylight as possible. When designing your office space, consider adding skylights or floor to ceiling windows. When considering the interior design, keep large furniture away from the windows as to not block out any light. Avoid dim lighting as this can strain eyes and try to avoid glare.
Consider The Flow Of The Office
Many businesses think they have to choose between two types of offices; an open-plan office or an office with enclosed spaces for privacy. When in reality, a combination of both will be more effective for staff wellbeing.
An open-plan layout encourages the movement of employees, which is great for increasing activity levels. In addition, an open-plan office will also encourage communication and teamwork. Adding smaller, private pods will be beneficial for those employees who prefer privacy and quiet when working. When improving the wellbeing of staff through interior design, you should also include a creative space for brainstorming and team meetings.
Top Tip: Whichever office layout you choose, remember to include space for water coolers. Having easy access to cold water is great for the health and wellbeing of employees.
Bring The Outdoors In
Studies show the wellness of employees who work in an environment enhanced with natural features is 15% higher than those who do not. Add natural elements to your office by having a variety of indoor plants or a living wall. Plants clean the air and are known to reduce stress levels, boost creativity and increase productivity. Perhaps you could even include an indoor flower garden. Another way to add natural elements to your office space is by choosing surfaces made from natural materials, such as wood and stone.
Choose The Right Colours
Different colours create different moods. Soft tones, such as a brown and terracotta are known to evoke feelings of warmth and relaxation, which is why they’re often found in bedrooms. Whereas bright colours, such as blues and oranges are known to energise and yellows are great for promoting creativity.
When improving employee wellbeing through interior design, you should carefully select the colours. Colours that stimulate productivity and creativity should be used in the office area and meeting rooms. Softer shades that evoke calming feelings should be used in break rooms and relaxation areas.
Areas Of Relaxation
To improve employee wellness and reduce stress levels, you should provide your employees with somewhere to relax. Unlike other break rooms, these areas of relaxation should be designed with peace and quiet in mind. Your employees should be able to meditate, read or simply relax away from the bustle of the office.
Michael Lawrence is CEO at YourWellspace, a health and wellbeing tech start-up who focus on data-driven wellbeing for teams and workplaces.
This article was written by Michael Lawrence, CEO at YourWellspace.
Sponsors of the SBID International Design Awards for the Office Design category reveals how they help to create happy, healthy, high performing working and learning environments with their range of smart, contract furniture solutions for office, workplace and healthcare spaces. Jonathan Hindle, Group Managing Director E.M.E.A of KI tells us more...
What are the origins of your brand?
KI (Krueger International, Inc.) is headquartered in Wisconsin, USA; was founded in 1941, and has been a contract furniture manufacturer ever since. Fully employee-owned, KI has grown to become one of the world's largest, most respected furniture manufacturing groups. KI’s EMEA headquarters and showroom in Central London is supported by an established network of manufacturing facilities and distribution partners across the UK, Europe and the Middle East committed to providing customers with smart solutions for Workplace, Education and Healthcare Sectors.
How do you work with interior designers?
KI engages with interior designers and specifiers both directly and through a global network of showrooms and resellers. It has offered a unique Market of One manufacturing philosophy for many years and supports specifiers with the opportunity to design and build the furniture the want quickly and cost effectively through its Infinity programme. There are many online tools to assist designers such as See it Spec It, CAD and Revit Symbols, Image Libraries and Finishes options libraries to assist with Specification and Planning.
What value does your sector add to the interior design industry?
We provide a valuable furniture engineering design and manufacturing resource for workplace, education and healthcare interiors. KI’s furniture helps the world’s leading organisations create happy, healthy, high performing working and learning environments. We strive to improves productivity through the design and manufacture of furniture solutions which both optimise floor plans and stimulate users. We also know how diverse furniture requirements can be, so by working to understand what our client's need, we can deliver the ideal solution.
How does your offering enhance an interior designer’s projects?
As above. Not only do our products represent cutting edge solutions to furniture requirements in workplace, education and healthcare environments, KI brings together good design, advanced engineering and sustainable resources to produce products that are durable, flexible and offer excellent value.
KI products can help designers meet client needs by improving productivity of the end-user through the design and manufacture of furniture solutions which both stimulate and provide efficiencies; meeting the demands of evolving workplaces. Customers throughout the world come to KI, not just for high-quality contract furniture but for the knowledge to make the right choices. Working with KI gives you access to our wealth of experience and innovation, so we can help you select the perfect furniture for the desired application.
What are the latest trends you’ve noticed in your client’s requests?
KI Europe has recently introduced the 800 Series Shelving System, designed to offer a flexible platform for designers to divide space in open plan offices with shelving systems providing a domestic aesthetic. We have introduced a new seating range utilising the latest injection moulding techniques to provide flexible comfort and a lightweight aesthetic called Grafton, a new injection moulded dining chair called Hatton an enhancement to the market leading education seating range Postura+ providing fully recycled plastic options and a new generation Sit/Stand Collection of desking and benching called Work 2.1 to meet the evolving requirements for enhanced wellness across major organisations.
Why did you want to become a sponsor for the SBID Awards?
We wanted to engage with the SBID in order to better promote KI’s capabilities and desire to work with the world leading design practices which the SBID attract.
Sponsorship for the SBID International Design Awards 2020 is now open.
To find out more about becoming an SBID Awards sponsor next year click here or email [email protected]
Workplace gurus have in recent years enjoyed looking through the generational lens to help predict behaviours and changes effecting corporate interior design. The impact that millennial’s have made upon the workplace for example, assisting organisations move from hierarchies to networks, has been significant. Attention is now being paid to the current school and university population – Gen Z or iGen (internet generation) born after 2000 and the suggestion is that technology impacts on design could continue to be profound.
SBID Education Council expert, Jim Taylour, Head of Design and Wellbeing at Orangebox sheds light on how workplaces and educational institutions should be adapting to suit this new wave of technology-fuelled behaviours.
Not a member? Join now.
If you're already a member, sign in to continue reading.
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features a warm and welcoming co-working space with a unique approach to office design and the structure of workplace environments. Beyond Design Architects designed a diverse space for a client who is in the business of operating co-working spaces. Although an office space at heart, the ambience feels more like one of hospitality. The use of beige, ivory and light brown, coupled with warm lighting throughout help to create this friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Elements such as the decorative white screen dividing the space, work-bays, plants, planters, wall graphics, artefacts and the use of Italian marble for column cladding enhance the warmth of the space. A meticulous mix of seating styles and various types of seating arrangements – conventional, pods, high tables, community tables and loungers – give a varied choice to the end user depending on their needs for the space.
Sector: Office Design
Company: Beyond Design Architects
Project: Redbrick
Location: Hyderabad, India
The client wanted to have a contiguous space for reception, waiting, hot desking and cafe. This will mean that right at the entry space, the 'mood' of the place is set in the user’s mind which is then carried forward in the bays and workstation area that follows this space. Also, the space had to be welcoming and warm, not dull and cold.
The design team came with with the idea of treating this space on the lines of a hospitality project look rather than a typical office reception space. Hence the entire colour scheme was based on a beige and light brown theme rather than the usual greys or whites. Also in terms of use of materials, it was Italian marble cladding, wooden flooring, use of decorative screens, texture paint on the exposed ceiling etc, giving it more of a cosy, welcoming feeling.
Integration of the look and feel of the front, reception area with the back of the house area - which was the pure co-working space, was a challenge. However, this was achieved by continuing the wooden flooring in the passages connecting bays behind, thereby visually connecting two seemingly different functions.
The successful amalgamation of two distinct look and feel areas, was the highlight of the project for us.
Why did you enter the SBID Awards?
We won the Best Office Design Award in the SBID International Design Awards 2016 and we are aware about the immense recognition that it gets worldwide.
Questions answered by Alhad Gore, Managing Partner of Beyond Design Architects.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week featuring an immersive exhibit designed to create sensory experiences to simulate a body's heartbeat, click here to see more.
We hope you feel inspired by this week's office design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire
SBID International Design Awards 2018 Finalist | Office Design category sponsored by KI Europe
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features a new office designed to be a place overflowing with inspirations to help spark the imaginations of clients who visit in search of creative ideas. DRAFT Inc, a Tokyo-based interior design company, relocated its Tokyo office due to the expansion of the business and its personnel. The vision was to explore materials, styles and concepts, not favouring any particular style or single taste, so that anyone who comes to visit the office could find inspiration in at least one design concept or theme. In addition, the design caters for various working styles, to achieve maximum performance outcomes, using bespoke furniture such as meeting benches and concentration booths. The result explores the scope of office interior design for the next generation.
Company: DRAFT Inc.
Project: DRAFT Office
Location: Tokyo, Japan
There wasn’t any specific client requirements because it was my own office project, but my aim was to create an office which provides a source of inspiration and insight about office design and interior design to our clients. As DRAFT is a Tokyo-based interior design studio, the office needed to create a design that makes everyone happy - including client, designers, and the people who visit the place in line our philosophy, all happy by design.
This place was envisioned to be an informative and inspiring place for clients. As we invite and welcome various clients to the office who seek ideas, from interior space to urban planning, we wanted to implement the use of different design themes and materials. I explore and experiment with the combination of materials, such as exposed concrete for ceilings with soft oak for floors and luxurious marble tiles so that clients can find at least one design element that aids their imagination. The design is a mixture of a rough and sophisticated look, which I call a neutral mix style. This style captured the ethos of our
We used to occupy the full top floor of a 12 stories building, but the new office is located in the second and third floor of a low-rise building. Therefore, I had to set about connecting people who work on different floors and consider how to map out departments and communal spaces with this in mind. To increase the level of interaction and generate social encounters between employees, I arranged the cafe space and all the meeting rooms at the very end of the lower level so that people would be encouraged to move around the office to get around. It turned out very well - offering designated meeting spaces for employees meant they can separate 'work time' and 'down time'. Seeing them gather around the cafe to communicate, relax, and socialise with others during lunchtime and meetings improves morale and keeps a positive atmosphere.
The entrance features a concrete ceiling with oak flooring, while the corridor laid in a diamond pattern of black and white marble tiles that conveys a sense of depth. The meeting rooms combine extended glass sashes with a leather-upholstered door with entrance door lighting that evokes the feeling of exterior design into the interior. The office area, which divided by three meters high wooden doors, succeeds in capturing the natural light and the beauty of the exterior views by glass partitions. Combining the luxurious marble floor tiles with aluminium spandrel walls and wood stamped concrete pillars, we have expressed a neutral design that does not lean towards any single design taste. The raised floor area is equipped with concentration booths and sofa seating that can be freely used by members of staff.
I kept secret about the design details except very few design team members. At the night of the moving, I took every staffs on the other side of the road of the building, and lights up the interior after the countdown. I was so glad to see that everyone surprised and enjoyed the new office.
SBID is one of the greatest international interior design awards as far as I know. The design level of the nominated projects are very high and inspiring, so it is a privilege for me to attend the yearly award ceremony as a finalist.
Questions answered by Taiju Yamashita, Interior Designer at DRAFT Inc.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week featuring a prestigious residential design in the heart of Mayfair with classical yet contemporary interior, click here to see more.
Join SBID
Find out more about our flexible membership structure.
By subscribing, you agree to be added to SBID’s mailing list. As an industry’s standard bearer organisation, we strive to bring you the most up to date news and access to exclusive industry content through our various newsletters.
First Name
Last Name
Email Address
I accept the SBID Terms of Use