Designing an office space that works for your business can be challenging. There is a range of factors to consider if the office is to fully meet your needs and, without good planning, it’s easy to get wrong.
So how do you go about creating an effective office space for your business?
Office design specialists such as Flow will often keep in mind five key criteria.
What are the five criteria used for designing an office?
Five critical factors are typically used when designing an office space. These are:
Flexibility
An office design needs to be flexible enough to adapt to the growth and change of your business. Sometimes these changes can be anticipated, at other times they may be unexpected. Either way, an intelligent design will allow you to make quick and easy changes to ensure your office remains fit-for-purpose.
Lighting
The right ambient lighting is essential in your office. This should be maximised for each employee, ensuring they have an adequate light source to enable them to focus on the work at hand. Light sources can come from windows, skylights and windowed wall panels. Light reflection on monitors should also be avoided through careful positioning of workstations.
Placement
How employees move around the office and interact with each other will impact how a workspace is divided and arranged. Some departments may need private workspaces, others may need more free-flowing and collaborative places. Boundaries can help give employees a sense of privacy without discouraging interaction.
Appearance
The overall look of the office is important, particularly if it will be visited by customers and clients. It should be attractive and comfortable to work in as well as reflective of your overall brand.
Noise
The noise generated by different teams, individuals and equipment will also be taken into account. Employees that need silence for concentrated work will usually be sited away from noisy equipment, busier areas and employees who are regularly on the phone. The same applies to social areas which should be separated from workers so as not to become disruptive.
How do I create an office layout?
When you are designing an office layout you should think about the overall needs of your business. How is space used and how much is needed? If you’re shifting toward remote and hybrid working you may need less space for permanent staff, and more room for collaboration and meetings.
What makes a good office layout?
A good office layout is one that meets the needs of the business, is comfortable to work within, facilitates effective working and is a good shop window for your business. When you’re designing office space you need to think holistically about your business and its current and future needs.
There is a wide range of different office layouts that reflect the diverse needs of different companies. Some are more formal, with private space for client meetings such as those found in legal companies, while others are less defined to facilitate creative collaboration. Many will combine aspects of the two extremes to create a blend that suits the particular needs of the business.
How Flow Office can help
At Flow Office, we work in Birmingham and across the Midlands creating bespoke offices for ambitious businesses. We can design, supply and install your new office ensuring you have an office space that’s fit-for-purpose and matches your needs.
Call 01922 453 488 or email sales@flowoffice.co.uk to find out more about our office design services.