Context architects office of the future guide ebook

The office of the future Context Architects guides you through what you need to think about when designing your work space.

The office of the future is efficient, inspiring, productive and exciting to be part of.

If you are looking for productivity gains, staff retention, space efficiencies and futureproofing, then have a read over this guide.

We’ve produced it to help you work through the important elements that need to be considered when you are thinking of designing or redesigning your office.

Welcome to the office of the future.

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Future proofing your office

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Brand equity

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Workplaces for success

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Inter-generational working styles

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Activity based working and collaboration

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Document management and storage

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Breakout space and quiet zones

10 Technology enablement and future-proofing

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A mobile workspace

11 Designing for wellbeing

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Confidentiality and acoustic control

12 Sustainability and energy efficiency 2

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FUTURE-PROOFING YOUR WORKPLACE Careful planning and good design is essential in ensuring your office stands the test of time.

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WORKPLACES FOR SUCCESS

Top performing companies understand the impact that workplace design has on success. A well-designed workplace maximises spatial efficiency, supports staff and encourages engagement in the business.

Each businesses’ requirements are different but their offices can all be designed to enhance performance. By understanding how people use space to focus, collaborate, socialise and learn, we deliver workplaces that encourage success and create a great atmosphere.

Many companies have made a change to open plan, or a partially open plan environment. ‘Open plan’ is a term used for a wide range of workplace styles.

The very best examples of open plan workplaces foster informal communication and cohesiveness.

The ability to have a quick informal conversation increases knowledge and understanding of other team members and contributes considerably to effectiveness.

WHY NOT CREATE A WORKPLACE THAT NOT ONLY REDUCES SPACE REQUIRED, BUT INSPIRES AND MOTIVATES EMPLOYEES, IMPROVES COMMUNICATION AND TEAMWORK, GENERATES FREE PUBLICITY AND INCREASES FLEXIBILITY? Open plan no longer means a stereotypical grid of cubicles, separated by panels just high enough to actually interfere with visual awareness while doing nothing for the lack of acoustic privacy. The type and extent of open plan and ancillary spaces should be designed specifically to suit your company. Often it is beneficial to involve users in the workplace development, rather than trying to sell them an imposed solution.

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ACTIVITY BASED WORKING & COLLABORATION

Activity-based working is at the forefront of workspace design. It is about changing the workplace so that people are no longer bound to their desks. People can move from space to space depending on what they are doing.

Flexibility is key to activity based working and this can be achieved by designing in a variety of spaces, along with multi-functional spaces and mobile furniture, all supported by a backbone of wireless IT.

THE AIM IS TO FOSTER COLLABORATION WITHOUT COMPROMISING INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTIVITY. The design of your workplace can support this collaboration by careful arrangement of open plan desking, strategic locations of shared facilities, and the inclusion of group working spaces.

Collaboration speeds innovation and productivity, and is fostered by the design of your office space and the facilities you provide.

There are three dimensions to collaboration: awareness of the activities of others around us in the workplace, brief interactions, and actual collaborative work involving sustained interaction.

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BREAKOUT SPACES & QUIET ZONES

Top performing company offices are designed to support all work modes and include a mix of breakout spaces for collaboration and socialising, and quiet zones for focused work.

Breakout spaces help foster impromptu staff interaction by guiding staff to certain parts of the space. For example, placing coffee points adjacent to print areas that all staff use. Having people move through space to a common location brings them together and fosters interaction between individuals and business units, resulting in conversations and discoveries which otherwise may not have happened.

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Break out spaces take many forms, from meeting pods and games areas to café style settings designed to suit your business and how it operates.

Quiet zones are distinct areas where people do focused work. They are ideal for mobile workers looking to work in the office for hours at a stretch, or within open plan workspaces when additional concentration is required. Good acoustic treatment in these spaces is essential.

Context will assist you in determining the appropriate level and type of breakout and quiet spaces to suit your business.

THE ‘PING’ FACTOR – THE CONSTANT BECKON OF TECHNOLOGY – IS REDUCING OUR EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVITY AND SANITY. PEOPLE NEED TIME AND SPACE TO THINK, BALANCED WITH TIME AND SPACE TO COLLABORATE. PHYSICALLY MOVING TO A QUIET ZONE CAN FACILITATE THIS AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO CHOOSE TO LEAVE THE PING AT THE DOOR.

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A MOBILE WORKSPACE

Many companies offer staff a level of mobility and flexibility. The benefit is better talent attraction and retention, along with cost savings from more efficient use of space.

PUT A TELEPHONE BOOTH INTO OPEN PLAN OFFICE SETTINGS, OR NEAR HOTDESKS FOR PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS.

Today, more than half of graduates in New Zealand are women. To retain this top talent as women transition in and out of the workplace, offering flexible workplaces can be a big benefit to your company.

Going mobile means giving staff the tools they need for mobile work such as laptops, smart phones and tablets, as well as options to work in third places.

The key to flexible workspaces is offering the right environment. Activity-based work places are the right setting for mobile work. Staff can come into the office to work collaboratively in a break-out space, but might go to a quiet zone to write a document or deal with their email. It is also important to assign dedicated workspaces for mobile staff near their colleagues.

To attract new employees, make it easy to be a mobile worker. Give staff the technological tools they need to work-on-the-go.

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CONFIDENTIALITY & ACOUSTIC CONTROL

We understand that a level of confidentiality and privacy is crucial aspects of a successful workplace design. The amount will be specific to your company and we will help you ascertain what will work best for you.

The levels of privacy you require can be achieved through strong acoustic control within a sensitively designed office layout.

Acoustic control can be used across the whole office to varying degrees. This can be done through the choice of partitioning and glazing systems, wall and ceiling treatments and soft furnishings.

Knowing what suppliers can deliver in terms of acoustically treated furniture and fittings - and what is proven, rather than marketing hyperbole is critical.

Where necessary, we will work with an acoustic engineer to ensure the level of acoustic control and privacy you require is achieved across all spaces.

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ACOUSTIC CONTROL NEEDS TO BE RIGHT, OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE PRIVACY AND NOISE PROBLEMS. ONCE YOU HAVE IT RIGHT, YOU WON’T EVEN NOTICE IT IS DOING ITS JOB.

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BRAND EQUITY Your brand and values are critical to differentiate your company and communicate what you are all about.

People experience your brand through every interaction with your organisation and people.

From before they even enter your reception, the design should be telling a strong story about the company and its culture. Carrying this brand identity throughout the workplace will engage staff and reinforce the company’s values.

COMMUNICATING YOUR BRAND IS CRITICAL. IT DIFFERENTIATES YOUR ORGANISATION AND COMMUNICATES WHAT YOU ARE ALL ABOUT.

Everything from office layout and design to furniture and colour schemes reflect the attitudes of a company. All workplaces can include the latest in workplace spatial design and facilities, but can express them differently.

You can value engineer your fitout budget so that the brand experience is maximised to suit your requirements; for example, you could choose to spend the majority of your budget within the public areas to increase brand awareness.

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INTERGENERATIONAL WORK STYLES

For the first time in modern history, we have people aged from 20 to 60plus working alongside each other.

The workplace is often where generations meet and in top performing companies, the working environment needs to appeal to all generations.

The average lease is eight to 12 years, so when leasing consider who you will need to attract at the end of the lease.

• Approx. 7% of the workforce and tend to be leaders • Born between 1928 and 1945, they generally have a paternalistic, topdown approach • Focused on financial security and ‘work to save’

You are likely to be recruiting people in their early twenties in ten years time: people who are teens today - the digital natives.

You will be able to recruit and retain the best people by creating a workspace which caters for your potential workforce. To do that, you need to understand the different generations’ working styles.

• Approx. 40% of the workforce • Born between 1946 and 1964, they ‘live to work’, and are optimistic • While they value face time at the office, they consider working a solitary experience

Baby boomers

Traditionalists

• Approx. 30% of the workforce • Born between 1965 and 1980, they ‘work to live’ meaning they put quality of life ahead of career • First generation in which it was common for two parents to work, making Gen Xers autonomous selfstarters

• Approx. 23% of the workforce • Born between 1981 and 2000, they value a work/life balance • Work best in teams and may have many different types of jobs throughout their work lifetimes • Digital natives and accustomed to BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) way of working

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DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT & STORAGE

Utilising offsite archiving can be cost effective and frees up valuable office space.

Offices tend to be document and paper heavy. Even with the move towards digitalisation, the paper isn’t all about to go away.

Each office functions differently and storage that is tailored to suit helps to achieve maximum productivity and minimal stress.

Document management and efficient storage solutions are key to making storage in the workplace work effectively.

Removing unnecessary clutter not only frees the mind but also creates more useful space for collaboration and learning.

Document management and storage solutions should be innovative and streamlined. For example, storage units and planters can act as room dividers in open plan spaces, or storage can be built into walls.

BUILDING IN ADEQUATE AND APPROPRIATE DOCUMENT STORAGE IS CRITICAL TO THE WHOLE SPACE WORKING AND FEELING FUNCTIONAL AND FRESH.

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TECHNOLOGY ENABLEMENT & FUTURE-PROOFING

Technology is evolving so quickly that you need to think about how to design a space both for today’s technologies such as wi-fi and mobile devices, but also for tomorrow’s technologies - such as interactive video, touch technologies.

In the future, video applications will be limitless and ubiquitous. Multimedia conferencing from any device, including laptops, tablets, smartphones, smart glasses and anything with a web browser and camera are becoming the norm and will change the way we work.

Using wireless devices to communicate with voice, video and data is the future. Ensuring the space we lease today is capable of integrating these future technologies into its design.

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When you make a property transaction like a new lease, think five years ahead to future technology.

What are the latest technologies which will make your IT solutions more efficient and simple? Can you incorporate technology into the client zones to help clients experience the brand? For example, can you incorporate interactive media showcasing the services you offer, case studies or updates on what is happening in your industry?

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DESIGNING FOR WELLBEING

Driving down cost, designing sustainably and enabling new technologies are all part of the latest in workplace design thinking, but ultimately, we design for people.

Long periods of sitting have been proven to cause muscle degeneration, bad backs, eye strain and foggy brain function. It’s no secret that there is a direct tie between wellbeing and productivity – improving working conditions is our specialty!

A growing concept in the interiors field is called ‘green ergonomics’. This is the integration of ergonomics and sustainability to improve health, wellbeing and performance.

been very well received in some of our recent work.

Incorporating natural and passive ventilation, indoor plants and growing green walls all have an excellent positive effect on wellbeing.

Providing cycle storage, lockers and showering facilities encourages staff to incorporate healthy exercise routines into their commute.

BRING NATURE INDOORS BY INCORPORATING PLANTS AND GREEN WALLS FOR A POSITIVE EFFECT ON WELLBEING.

We can assist in creating a ‘green ergonomic’ office by using furniture with proven ergonomic benefits and creating office layouts to take advantage of natural and artificial light. Sit-to-stand desks have

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SUSTAINABILITY & EFFICIENCY Good sustainable office design includes things like:

• A good balance between natural & energy efficient lighting • Materials which are environmentally friendly to manufacture & healthy to live with • Achieving indoor environments that are neither too hot nor too cold – and doing this naturally through ‘Passive design’.

Adding a sustainability requirement to the design brief doesn’t have mean adding extra costs – designers often see this as a design challenge as well as a filter for selecting materials and products.

For example we can guide you in making informed choices about the lighting types, timers and sensors you can use. Lighting accounts for around 38% of an average commercial office building’s total energy use so good lighting design means ongoing cost savings.

Similarly by selecting materials which are both ecologically sourced but also robust and durable maintenance costs can be minimised. We love to include things like bike racks and shower facilities.

Such simple additions add amenity whilst giving people extra commuting options.

These elements must be considered early in the process and with regard to the overall building design and internal layout. Designing in this way allows you optimise passive opportunities like solar gains, sunlight, shading and cross ventilation.

Context is a member of the New Zealand Green Building Council, and has a wide range of skilled people who have experience delivering sustainably focused offices both in NZ and abroad. We have qualified practitioners who can advise on efficient design and can even work with you toward gaining Green Star accreditation on your office fitout.

USE DAYLIGHT TO REDUCE YOUR ELECTRICITY USE AND RECYCLED FLOORING TO REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.

IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A CHAT ABOUT YOUR IDEAS, OR GET STARTED ON ONE OF THESE STAGES, GET IN TOUCH AND ONE OF OUR INTERIORS EXPERTS WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP:

Auckland: Judith Taylor judith.taylor@context.net.nz Level 1, 326 New North Road, Kingsland, Auckland PO Box 56404 Dominion Road, Auckland 1446 P: 09 358 0140 M: 027 527 0055 Christchurch: Heather Blewett heather.blewett@context.net.nz 75 Perry Street, Papanui, Christchurch PO Box 5227, Papanui, Christchurch 8542 P: 03 550 1550 M: 027 537 9804

www.contextarchitects.com

Context Architects

www.contextarchitects.com