Office Space Design Trends
You look across your office space and notice that you suddenly have a zombie-like workforce. Gray cubicle farms, fluorescent lighting flickering in the distance, drab break rooms that no one stays in for long. The 80s coffee pot that was already there when you moved in along with half and half packets and sweet and low. It almost seems you wanted to find everything that was wrong with the 80s and torment your staff with boredom between deadlines.
Office design is constantly changing and evolving. The last thing you want when designing your office is for it to look outdated and uninspiring. Often an under-appreciated part of workplace happiness and productivity, most companies pay office workers about 20 times more in salary and benefits than they pay in rent. If a 10% savings in office rent results in a 10% loss in productivity, then for every ten cents of savings the company is losing two dollars. With this in mind, we wanted to go over the biggest office space design trends. What makes employees happy, while also increasing workplace results. Here are the eight biggest trends that are making modern office spaces beautiful places to get work done.
Open Ceilings
Exposed ceilings are an architectural trend that creates an industrial look to any space and with the added height it makes rooms look more spacious. It is quite common today for companies to decide to change to open ceilings when renovating. If you decide to go with an open ceiling plan it needs to be carefully planned, on the other side of those ceilings are electrical wires, plumbing and you need to be especially careful about acoustical issues.
Hardwood Floors
The biggest trends for hardwood floors are either very dark or very light colors. The most popular dark hardwood floor colors are ebony, espresso, jacobean, and dark walnut. On the other side, lighter colors are also extremely popular right now. Fashionable clients are requesting gray either by refinishing hardwood for a gray look or by whitewashing with a touch of gray. Ultra blond is also growing in popularity and gives your office a larger and more casual look.
Open Spaces
Psychologists and sociologists have concluded that the most likely reason two strangers end up becoming friends is how much time they share common space in proximity to each other. Spending a lot of time near someone that you find attractive as a friend is the number one way people end up forming long-term and close friendships.
For office space design you want as many open spaces as possible. This encourages interaction between all departments and helps avoid a sense of us vs. them mentality while encouraging collaboration and new friendships. Nothing is more important in current design trends than developing open spaces and meeting rooms for a collaborative office culture.
Nature
There have been countless studies that show that bringing nature indoors increases the mood of your employees while increasing their productivity and creativity. Adding brightly colored plants and natural lighting are easy ways to create an environment that your employees want to be in.
Hoteling
Hoteling is a modern trend that involves providing office space to employees as needed instead of permanently reserving desk space. This lowers overhead costs by cutting out unused office space. This is something you should really look into if you have employees that travel frequently. On the days when your office has more employees than workspaces available employees can simply work at home or at a coworking space.
Lounge Areas
Lounge areas that double as informal meeting and conference rooms are one of the biggest trends in modern office design. The trend is becoming so popular that gyms are now beginning to offer work areas where members can get some work done before or after workouts. Outdoor spaces are also a common trend that is growing in popularity.
Color
Basic white color schemes are giving way to more modern and bold gray color schemes with chrome, aluminum, and metal accents. There is also a big shift from carpet and vinyl composition tile to polished concrete flooring. Concrete flooring flows extremely well with an industrial look and is much easier to maintain than other flooring designs.
Leading The Way In Office Space Design Trends
Desai Chia Architecture is an award-winning architecture and interior design firm with a distinctive portfolio of commercial, projects. They focus on office space design trends that provide their clients with compelling, customized environments that allow them to collaborate, innovate, and thrive.
They believe in involving the client in an engaged, collaborative way. Through conversations, they create inspiring spaces that express their client’s identity and aspirations. Their projects interweave technology, sustainability, material innovation, and a meticulous attention to details.
Pinecone is a workplace well-being agency that focuses on mind, body, and environment. Pinecone fosters your team’s health and productivity by crafting nurturing offices and cultures. They want to help your team so they can lead healthy lives. This is one of the newest office space design trends that is starting to grow in popularity.
Spaces
Spaces Commercial Real Estate helps businesses in NYC find and secure great space. Whether you’re one person running the show or have a cast of characters to do your bidding we’ll help you find the right space and at the right price! Click below for more information.