Today’s office is increasingly becoming a meeting place, where cooperation is prioritised more than ever thanks in part to modern methods such as Agile, project-based, activity-related or flexible work. So how do you create the ideal meeting place? We asked interior designers for their take.
Optimal use of floor space is a key condition many organisations set when furnishing a space. To realise this, it can be useful to take the various types of cooperation and discussion as a starting point, and to arrange the available space accordingly. Do you want to have conferences and brainstorming sessions, do you want to focus and teach, or do you want to talk to customers? Each of these activities has its own objective and achieving this objective requires a functional and inspiring environment. Organisations should determine their preferred types of cooperation and discussion before thinking about flexible, custom solutions for the spaces in question.
Facilitate and appreciate
Ultimately, this means whatever the organisation wants to achieve through cooperation should be the starting point for designing a flexible and functional workplace. Generally speaking, there are four types of business encounters that each have their own ‘zone’:
Efficient meetings
Every office needs a meeting table with chairs, if only to be able to welcome clients and partners and offer them a seat. Still, the table and chairs combo has fallen out of favour and has literally made way for standing tables in inspiring rooms. According to researchers, stand-up meetings are a must if you care for your health and value efficiency, as they tend to be 33% shorter than traditional meetings. In the past, stand-up meetings were sometimes met with scorn and considered to be just another hype, but they have since proven to be a tried & tested development in the modern office and they are here to stay.
In a conference room, you want to be able to switch from a seated meeting to a stand-up meeting at will to make use of the room’s full potential. Don’t change the meeting based on the room, but change the setting to accommodate your preferred meeting type. The Chameleon Flipping Table will let you do just that.
Office landscape
Many commercial properties feature one or more office landscapes. At the time, the idea behind the office landscape was good; people are social creatures who seek each other’s company and want to have discussions without barriers. Besides, we simply enjoy working together. Moreover, an open office space created opportunities for cross-pollination between teams so that shared objectives could be completed more quickly.
Many organisations see the benefits of an office landscape and do not want to return to rooms or units. At the same time, teams want to be able to isolate themselves for a sprint or team meeting without being a nuisance to colleagues who want to focus on their work. Anyone who works with the Agile method will know that these requirements are definitely compatible. The solution lies in the ability to set up an office landscape flexibly and functionally. The Chameleon Harmonica Workwall can be an invaluable tool in this context.
DNA
The concept of ‘Office 2.0’ in which the office is a place to meet and work, is crucial for organisations that are looking to grow. Every company has its own DNA and needs a unique, functional office setup that suits its mission and company culture.