Over the years, many new trends emerged to satisfy the increasingly high requirements that modern life has set. One of the topics that are welcomed by many leaders is how to design the workspace? Nowadays, offices are no longer merely a place where we spend a lot of time to getting the work done, ideal offices have to both ensure the aesthetics and express the overall spirit of the company. Besides, creating a creative and healthy working environment so that employees can maximize their work efficiency. Last but not least, these new trends must have less risk of falling into an outdated state quickly. Why? Because the cost to re-establish the workspace is not a small investment.
A recent study revealed that the working environment contributes a big part to employee’s performance. When working in a dull space surrounded by four walls, the ability to think, to concentrate, and to handle may also be delayed. Meanwhile, an open and airy working environment with flexible designs will help reduce stress, increase productivity as well as create benefits for employees in the company such as opportunities to socialize and connect.
So here are office interior design trends that will make a big statement in 2020. You can mix and match to create an effective workspace and impressive architecture for both clients and employees.
1. Express The Value Of The Brand
In the endless growth and development of the economy, companies are springing up like mushrooms that increase the level of competition. Correspondingly, highlighting the value of the brand among other potential competitors plays a vital role, especially in markets that tend to be saturated. Therefore, even in design, the brand element is increasingly concerned. The overall design should reflect the core values and general spirit of the company. For example, if your company works in the entertainment field, produces video games,…, you need to consider factors such as creativity, dynamism, and playfulness. But with an interior company, sophistication, and elegance in the design are indispensable requirements.
“Brands want to come forward and demonstrate their own story”
Rooze
Next, consider choosing the colors accordingly. Almost every brand has its own color scheme, so let’s start from that color palette. Then add a pop of color to increase the aesthetics. But if what your company does not have specific colors? Make it easy by basing on the feeling which you want to receive from the design.
- Yellow, Orange, Green,… bring an energizing effect
- Purple adds a bit little of mysterious and regal
- Blue, White,… offer a calming, soothing feeling.
The bold colors can bring impressive accents, however, do not try to overdo them too much. Because sometimes it will cause adverse effects that inhibit both clients and employees who work daily at the company.
Finally, selecting the right furniture and furnishings to complete your design. Obviously, they have to follow the general theme of the entire design. Not only ensure the balance between functions and aesthetics but also reflect your company’s identity and culture.
2. Incorporate Privacy Elements Into Open Office Design
When it comes to office design, it is impossible to talk about great plans without talking about the open office. Since the beginning, it created a great wave in office design style. The open office provides a spacious, airy space where people can increase interaction, easily exchange work with each other. Also, it helps reduce stress and stimulates the ability to think of things that can be slow down in a stable environment, so that open office increases productivity and work efficiency. Especially, this design may bring about significant economic benefits, save investment costs for internal architectures while saving office space. However, along with those advantages, this design also leaves drawbacks such as noise, difficulty concentrating, and distraction in common spaces.
Gensler’s 2019 U.S. Workplace Survey shows that people today really want, and need to work in a space with more privacy elements. Nobody likes to show off their personal life in the presence of others and there will always be occasions when they need moments of quiet contemplation. But it doesn’t mean totally private environments. An ideal environment should balance between both factors: open but still closed.
“The impact of the open environment is wide-reaching, but too many people’s needs are being missed with the status quo approach. We need to rethink how we incorporate privacy elements into our design, creatively integrating visual and acoustic solutions, for the sake of focus and productivity. Over the last decade, the industry has been busy deconstructing the office environment and it hasn’t necessarily served everyone.”
Jenifer Halverson – Studio Director at Pacific Office Interiors
This trend is win-win options, not only allows communication, teamwork, and approachability but also creates a comfortable working environment for mental health.
3. Bringing Nature Into The Workspace
Aiming to create a healthy and efficient living environment for modern people, where nature and technology are harmoniously combined, the biophilic design creates an open and friendly working environment as well as minimizes pollution and negative physical effects.
Base on a study of Human Spaces, in almost workspace, 47% of employees lack natural light, and 58 % of them have no plants, which will be the cause of anxiety, stress, and deficiencies in concentration. The working environments include natural elements; both are desired and needed that can reduce an individual’s stress levels and increase the perception of well-being up to 15%. Or even if sitting by a window, being received plenty of natural light while working has proved to have similar impacts on workers.
“Being by natural light and designing with the appropriate styles and needs for indoor lighting are both equally important. Biodynamic lighting creates a balance of both, regardless of where you are sitting in the space. It can mirror natural sunlight conditions while also regulating your circadian rhythm and provide a healthier workspace”
Amanda Corso – Design Strategist at Infinity Group
Therefore, designing a green office is one of the most popular tendencies that makes many people fall in love. There is a variety of ways to bring nature into the workspace, such as getting most out of natural light and views of the outside matters, utilizing available outdoor areas. Additionally, using natural materials (Stones, woods, slates, or even water) or using organic color pallets and earthy colors (green, brown, tan) can make a big statement.
“Bringing it outdoors! Creative as well as experiential approaches to working and living more outside a building. Softer and more inviting designs of contract grade furniture, that encourage relaxation, restoration, and functionality within the workplace.”
Jenifer Halverson – Studio Director at Pacific Office Interiors
4. Maximize the flexible ability
An open office can increase employee’s performance while creating a dynamic environment and active community connection; however, it has a risk of lack of private space. The flexible workspace design is a perfect answer for this puzzle that can meet both privacy and collaboration desires. It creates a dynamic and flexible environment so that staffs decide where they work as well as they can move easily around the workspace and convenient to exchange work with each other. By using lightweight, mobile furniture, adjustable lighting, and smart technology, it can transform from a meeting room to production areas or even semi-private space quickly. Moreover, the flexibility of design incorporates sufficiently other factors such as branding, biophilic, … to create the most effective working environment.
“Proactively create spaces and walls and furniture that can be as agile as the company needs to be when trying to be innovative and move the business forward as fast as technology is changing”
Allyson
In the face of increasing demand for workspaces, an integrated workspace can solve both functional and economic problems. As a result, the multi-functional, dynamic workspace will gradually assert its role and also gain in popularity.
5. Workplace Acoustics
Noise is one of the main factors causing negative impacts on the productivity and health of employees. A survey of Interface indicated that 69% of employees were influenced by the noise that reduced their concentration levels, productivity, and creative ability. Also, noise increases the situation of stress, exhaustion and negative sentiment. That’s why it’s important to minimize noise pollution in the workplace, particularly in an open space where the noise can come from all directions.
Acoustic designs will always be taken into consideration in any office because of its practical benefits, namely, improve the quality of sound, decrease stress, stimulate mental activity,… In the configuration, it focuses on using architectures and furniture, which can not only absorb sound but also prevent sound-attacks. According to K2 Space, acoustic offices base on 3 main principles:
- Absorb noise close to the source
- Block the direct path of sound
- Cover – mask unwanted sounds
Therefore, choosing fabric materials for carpet, lounge chair, adding more and more plants, or dedicating a quiet room are the ways to reduce the influence of noise in the workspace.
“Acoustics are and will continue to be a successful trend. Each office design needs to account for the factors and levels of noise that need to be addressed to make it a functional space. The application of acoustics, as well as the understanding of how they work and how they should be applied, are important in any design.”
Amanda Corse – Design Strategist at Infinity Group
The quality of the working environment is always one of the prerequisites that almost people are interested in when deciding to apply for jobs. Therefore, it is necessary to have the right view and choose suitable designs.
