Companies everywhere are looking at the open office design concept to reduce square footage, improve collaboration and innovation, and lure fresh new talent. While these all provide a positive impact on the bottom line, there are a few other, often overlooked, features that must be addressed for workplace to have a chance at success. In brief, those features are enclosed spaces.
Enclosed spaces required?
While not everyone needs an enclosed office, there is still a definite need for ample spaces that are acoustically sound and have a door that closes. Typically, there are three types of enclosed spaces to address:
Conference/Meeting Space
This space can accommodate multiple people. It allows lively discussions, and space for A/V for conference calls, or presentations on a monitor or screen. While encouraging impromptu meetings and collaboration in the open area, providing space where some meetings can take place without disruption is important as well.
Heads Down/Focused Work Space
It doesn’t matter what profession you’re in, at some point in the day, week, or month you will need a place to work in which you can focus for a few minutes or few hours without distraction. A room with a small table, simple desk, or comfortable reading chair can provide the distraction-free environment you need. Often this room can have seating for two people, providing space for one-to-one meetings. In addition, it also serves as space for individual heads down work.
Private or Individual Conversation Space
If you need to call your doctor, speak with a family member about a sensitive matter, or any other things that need privacy, having a small ‘phone booth’ type room is essential. Additionally, these rooms serve as an ideal location for a person on a conference call with the phone on speaker. Furnishings can be similar to the Heads Down/Focused rooms. However, the overall room size can be smaller and should provide both acoustic and visual privacy.
Is open office design or enclosed office space right for you?
While some of these rooms can have floor-to-ceiling glass walls letting natural light flow in, others should offer more privacy. There may be meetings in which the information on the screen requires privacy. For the Heads Down/Focused Work and the Private or Individual Conversations, spaces often need more visual privacy. This provides seclusion for emotional responses, or just visual privacy so they can concentrate on the task at hand.
The quantity of each type of space that your company will need depends on several factors:
- How many employees are in the space
- The type of work your company does
- The personalities of your employees
A trained design professional, like the designers at t² designs, can guide you through this process to arrive at the correct quantity and types of spaces to fit your company and your needs.
