Can Leopards change their spots? Can Zebras change their stripes?
The received wisdom is “NO, they can’t”. And until a few years ago, we would probably all have thought that commercial interiors were similarly stuck in a pretty fixed mould – grey, featureless, utilitarian.
But look around any office these days and those spots have definitely changed. Flexibility and collaboration, sustainability and employee wellness are the new watchwords of office design and have brought with them a whole new approach.
It’s not just that working spaces themselves have changed – more provision for virtual meetings, touchdown spaces for remote workers, hot-desking, integration of technology to facilitate hybrid collaboration – but the whole design ethos has fundamentally shifted.
We are seeing several key themes in the plans we are asked to look at:
Hybrid furniture
- Modular seating to enable spaces to be quickly and easily customised for a variety of uses.
- Movable screens to create self-contained areas.
- Booth seating either for quiet working or small meetings.
Biophilic design
Nature is becoming a major part of the built environment. Planters are now a regular feature, incorporated with booth and banquette seating configurations, sitting alongside living walls, green roofs and light, airy spaces. The Pantone colour of the year – Mocha Mousse – is very much warm-earth inspired and most of the other colours featuring in design palettes are similarly drawn from the natural world.
WHY? Well not just because plants and greenery add a pleasant aesthetic but because it is recognised that these elements contribute significantly to productivity, creativity and employee wellbeing.
Obviously not all office spaces are going to look like this:
But an increasing number are featuring elements like this.
Sustainability
Sustainability has risen to the very top of most agendas now and has been very much at the forefront of our operations for a long time now.
This covers an entire end-to-end spectrum from the use of the most sustainable possible materials to creating circular economy benefits through the recycling of waste and the re-upholstery of seating (which has become an increasing percentage of our activity over the past couple of years).
Hospitality-inspired furniture
With so many people now working from home for at least part of each week, employers are borrowing many design features from hospitality environments to create cozier, softer, more inviting spaces in order to increase the attractiveness of commercial spaces.
For us, this has produced more demands for elements like banquette and booth seating as well as the need for a more luxurious, domestic feel across every type of seating. As a manufacturer, we are in the fortunate position of being able easily to alter the specification of foams to create the greater comfort and are always happy to work with you to achieve exactly the right look, style and feel.
These are just a few of the design elements we have been working on and building into our ranges. Do speak to us about your next project needs.
