Workspace options have undergone a huge amount of change over the last five years. With the explosion in collaborative co-working spaces and the development of “pay-as-you-go” services from providers like WeWork, it’s fair to say serviced offices have had to do a lot to keep up.
With the constant march of tech dominating the modern workplace it’s important for space to provide inspiration to the people and companies that work there.
Here are six examples of how modern workspaces are setting new standards in design and fit-out that’s going a long way to inspire the people that work within them.
Open Plan is Not a New Concept
Open plan emerged in the 20th century in the US as part of a radical new design process created by the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright, but quickly became segmented spaces with work cubicles. The original idea of large communal workspaces became a little lost until the advent of Co-working in the US which initially tore down the barriers and allowed unassociated people to work collaboratively together.
Exponents of the art of open plan in 2016 is the rapidly expanding WeWork group who are about to open two new locations here in London. Providing an relaxed open plan space along with private offices and meeting rooms, the WeWork phenomenon is rubbing off across the sector.
A Meeting Room with a View
Even with the best open plan environments there is still a need to be able to meet colleagues and clients in private. Gone are the days when a meeting room was the least important part of a serviced office centre. No longer merely a room, office clients can use, meeting rooms need to convey a smart and inspiring business space. As places that are often used to win new business they need to be comfortable and well equipped.
More recently, meeting rooms are now a great way for providers to attract new business. To do this many providers have started to theme their meeting rooms and offer an increasing level of comfort and design often using bespoke or unique pieces of furniture that create a beautiful space that can inspire the people who use it.
A Decent Cup of Coffee Stirs the Senses
A good cup of coffee can help attract new business. Look at the success of coffee shops as places to do business. As a result workspace providers have learnt that great coffee can help attract new business too. Whether that’s using a brand like Starbucks or Costa or an Artisan coffee brand like Taylor Street Baristas or Paddy and Scott’s who provide coffee solutions to large corporates, coffee has come a long way in offices all over the country.
Many serviced office providers and co-working hubs have baristas just like the coffee shops that are now on every street corner. Others have bean-to-cup machines similar to chains like Pret A Manger that dispense a great cup of coffee and allow costs to be kept down without compromising quality.
Community Minded Networking
Part of the success of WeWork is their collaboration proposition. Members can network with fellow members helping to generate new business. With potential new clients right on your doorstep lots of serviced office providers now offer networking opportunities that match the co-working approach to collaborative working.
A ready-made network in your building is usually the last place you would look for potential new business but as more providers host networking breakfasts and after-work business gatherings often with a guest speaker, it’s easy to see why this can prove popular in today’s connected business community.
Artwork that Inspires Creativity
The power of a piece of artwork to inspire people is evident from the impact it can have in a gallery. So it should be no surprise that many serviced office centres and co-working hubs have used art to inspire their clients for some time now.
Providers like Landmark and BE Offices have added unique pieces of art to public spaces and now clients can select something that’s individual for their own office space.
Taking the impact of unique artwork one step further is this example by BE Offices who instructed talented street artist Nathan Bowen to create a bespoke City inspired view in their new Cheapside space.
Drowning out the Chatter in the Room
Open plan offices can be a great way to develop teams to work together but they can be very noisy places too. There has been a lot said recently about the impacts on productivity because of excessive noise.
One solution is to use a white noise machine that helps dull the impact of sounds in the room. Another solution is to adapt parts of the office for private working spaces. Many companies like Rightmove, Google and Facebook do this very well and so do many co-working spaces who have acknowledged the need for quiet spaces that provide a degree of privacy.
These are just a small number of examples of the changes happening to workspaces everywhere. As technology adapts further we are sure we will be highlighting new developments very soon.
To find out more about the many more benefits of flexible workspace and serviced offices speak to a member of our team.