Office Fitout? Current Design Trends

Office Fitout? Current Design Trends

Smart companies realise that an office is much more than a place to work. If there has been one major trend in office design over the past few years, it’s a shift away from a purely functionalist approach to office fitout projects. Businesses now recognise that the presentation of a workplace represents a company’s brand and that it plays an important role in moulding the corporate culture. In this article we’re going to run through some of the major trends in office fitout in recent years and we discuss how incorporating them into your workplace can yield major benefits for your company and its workforce.

Flexibility in an office fitout

Making the office more flexible offers employees greater scope for creativity and collaboration. A particularly innovative example is the main corporate headquarters of one software distribution company – where every employee is given a desk on wheels,and if they want to form a team they simply group their desks together and get to work. Of course, this solution wouldn’t suit every office space (stairs may be a hindrance for example), but there are other office fitout solutions that would provide similar benefits. For example hot desking, wherein everyone sits at large, shared desks as opposed to in isolated cubicles, has done a great deal to foster a communal and collaborative atmosphere in the modern workplace. CSS recently successfully undertook a large-scale project for Unilever in which we outfitted the office with shared desks to create a more communal environment.

Creative cross-pollination

Another major trend is the advent of open workspaces, which help to facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration. Examples include:

  • Huddle spaces
  • Activity spaces
  • Large meeting rooms
  • Shared canteens with large seated areas

A problem posed by this trend is how to best incorporate technology to facilitate collaborative projects in these workspaces. Large conferencing rooms are a particular challenge,and an increasingly popular solution is the incorporation of screen mirroring applications and wireless systems. These allow participants to stream their desktop right onto the large conference screen – with no cabling needed – thereby streamlining the collaboration process and removing the inevitable clutter of wired alternatives.

Vibrant and engaging work environments

Attracting talented employees is one thing, but in order to retain them you need to provide a stimulating environment to work in. Take the cult film Office Space as a cautionary tale. The main character is forced to work in a grey cubicle in an even greyer office, day-in-day-out and the film demonstrates what a soul-destroying experience this is for staff. A splash of colour never goes amiss and the vibrant primary colour schemes have been dominant in recent years.

It’s also helpful to convey a clear sense of direction from the management team, for the business and a visually strong office fitout can help underline the strength of the business. It can also inspire confidence in the company’s vision; which in turn can encourage employees to take creative risks to build on the company’s achievements.

Contact CSS for all your office fitout needs

Creative Space Services is an Irish company whose expertise and outstanding work to date has earned us some major clients in recent years. We’re bang up-to-date with the latest trends in office fitout,and can provide a solution to meet the needs of your company. We’re also accredited by the CIRI, we work to the highest standards and we have consistently demonstrated a capacity to deliver on large-scale projects.

If you’re looking to fit out or refurbish your business premises, get in touch with our experts today and find out what CSS can do to boost productivity and give your business the work environment it deserves.

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