Friday 21 March 2014

The 5 Key Elements of Modern Office Design

Modern office designs have changed rapidly from their earlier avatar. Modern office interior design is light airy and has to provide for our technology dependent workforce. They have to be functional as well as aesthetic. The 5 key elements of a modern office design are:

Colorful
It is a proven fact that colors can affect our moods, bring forth our creativity and even increase productivity. This is why more and more offices are switching over to a more modern color palate in their office interior design. Gone are dour cabinets in wood. Now we have laminates in vibrant reds, blues, greens and more. However, too much color can be distracting. So these are usually used as accents pieces or with a more sober shade like grey or cream. 

Open spaces
Modern office interior design also allows for open spaces. It not only gives the office a light airy feeling, but also ensures better communication, cooperation and a free flow of ideas. More and more office now have cubicles in an open plan system. While some private office cabin can still be found for the top bosses, most office space is designed according to an open plan.

Part of the reason is also our intrinsic nature to look for mates, even when working. Most people work better in teams, while staying in constant touch with the people and events happening around them.


Touchdown areas
The modern office space is slowly accommodating with the changing work force. Many offices have employees that work offsite. However, they do need to touchdown with the office at specific times. For instance, an IT consultant may have to work in different offices as part of his service. But he will eventually return to his own workplace. The office interior design has to accommodate for such migrant workers, making sure there are enough touchdown spaces.

Technology compliant
Which modern office today can survive without technology? For any workplace to function today, it needs at least a certain technological set-up. This includes phones, computers, laptops, printers, fax machines, internet ports and other work-specific tools. This means that the office interior design has to include all these. There should be enough power points, spaces and designated desk space for all this paraphernalia.

Common spaces
With the diving walls disappearing, offices are more about collaboration than stiff hierarchy. To further facilitate this, office interior design also has to provide for common spaces. These could be in the form of canteens, lounges or outdoor spaces. Relaxation and collaboration increases productivity and many modern office have found innovative ways of designing these spaces.

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