The whole design.

The office space as a whole is 25m square. As there will be a lot going on in the room I want to keep the rest of the room fairly simple so as not to over power the employees. The floor will be entirely white vinyl, so it will be easy to clean and will keep costs down. The only other design on the floor will be the yellow brick road which will be large sheets of vinyl with the pattern on, set into the plain white.

The ceilings will be 4.5 metres high, as from my research I found that when the ceiling is higher the employees feel as though 'a weight is lifted off their shoulders'. From my research in 'The secret life of buildings' I found that this creates a calmer and more spacious atmosphere. The ceiling will also be curved, creating a huge wave like shape, and adding to the flow of the room, as well as keeping the space different so as not to conform with the mundane usual office space.

In the centre of the room is the coffee station which will be made using perspex and white materials. This is so although it is in the middle of the room, it is not the main focus, as after all the employees are there to work. The office spaces in the top left corner of the room will have glass fronts so although they are quiet inside they still feel like they are part of the space and still feel accessible.

The relaxing sofa work area, which will sit behind the curtain of ribbons going from floor to ceiling, will have a floral theme. To make them feel more homely a country cottage feel will be adopted, using products from appropriate companies such as Laura Ashley.

The old red phone booths are mostly to add a bit of colour and fun to the room, but will also serve a purpose.

All together I feel I have designed a space relevant to my research, and developed ideas from others, merging them with my own. I feel like this would be a fun space to work in, but would also increase productivity much like the Interpolis building in Holland. I have also tried to keep costs down where I can to reduce the original construction costs, and make the office space into an investment, where people can work and be happy at the same time.

The closed group offices.

Colour Psychology

In the top right corner of my design are three closed off offices for group work. Two are approximately twelve metres by six, and the middle one approximately eight metres by six. Each one will be themed in a different colour, so that depending on the mood of the employee they can work to their best potential.

Inside each office will be a large table in the middle of the room, with a selection of chairs around it and any other equipment the company would specify, such as a projector screen etc.

The first office on the left will be white, with a few hints of pastel colours, with shiny surfaces and a futuristic feel. This is because white is plain, and for those with a headache can be calming and soothing. However another trait of white is to make a space feel even more spacious, unfriendly and sterile. This is why I have included hints of pastel colours to divide this up, and still make the space feel welcoming and desirable.

The chairs in this room will all be a different alternate pastel colour, to break up the brightness and plainness of the room. They will be comfy chairs but not too deep, and will be kept upright, so as not to make the employee too relaxed or tired.

This chair comes in a range of pastel colours, and is designed by Luca Nichetto.

The second office space will be themed around the colour purple. After looking at the colour psychology for this I have found that it is associated with wealth and royalty. I felt this would make the employees feel good about themselves, keeping their spirits high, and increasing their productivity. It can also be associated with spirituality and creativity, so dependant on what the employees need to do that day, if it is creative this would be the perfect place. For example making a presentation, or something graphic design based. Although this will be the theme of the room I do not want to make it too overpowering, and so the paler shades of purple will be used for the walls, keeping the ceilings and floor white. The table in the middle will be glass to add reflections and bounce the light and colours around the room, and the chairs around it will be all different shades of purple including lilacs, mauve and deep purples. The chairs in this office space will be wooden almost child like chairs to add to the creative atmosphere in the room, and as they are hard, the employees cannot get too comfy and will stay alert!

The third and final office spaces will be themed around the colour blue. I have discovered that blue represents communication, intelligence, trust and efficiency. I felt this would be appropriate for an office space for when the employees really need to focus as a group. 

For this office I still want to use a pastel blue for the walls, but this time will use a mid brighter blue for the ceiling to add a different effect. For this room I feel like as it is centred around focusing on work office chairs would be appropriate. 

         

Bibliography:
Cherry, K. (2010). Colour Psychology. Available: http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/color_white.htm. Last accessed 15th November 2011.

Wright, A. (2008). Colour Psychology. Available: http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours. Last accessed 15th November 2011.

Anon. (2007). Beautiful and Unique chairs. Available: http://www.fitinhouse.com/beautiful-and-unique-chairs-exotica-decorate-your-house-casamania/. Last accessed 15th November 2011.

Anon. (2011). Pastel wooden chairs. Available: http://home-and-garden.become.com/kids-chairs-kids-pastel-colored-wooden-parker-play-chairs-pink-parker-play-chairfloor-to-seat-14-h--compare-prices--sc1141566997. Last accessed 15th November 2011.

Anon. (2011). New York high back chair. Available: http://www.chairsupermarket.co.uk/p/New_York_High_Back_Chair.htm. Last accessed 15th November 2011.

Final floor plan

For my final design I chose my initial idea number four. I felt like my ideas progressed as I drew them, and so my final one was the most developed. I tried to include all the previous ideas that I thought worked well, and combined them into one space. 

The next step is to focus on each part individually and look at sourcing, pricing and the designs and materials I want to use for each. 

Initial ideas 3 & 4

After looking at my first two ideas I want to really utilise the space, not only fitting in more employees and zones but creating more of a flow. I like the way that idea three incorporates relaxing areas, as not everybody works to their highest productivity at a desk. I feel like it includes something for everyone, except individual working. I think with all these group areas it could be a little noisy, and maybe productivity would not be as high as if individual working areas were included. This is what I did for my final idea. In the bottom left corner is an individual working station. One large circular desk, approximately two metres diameter, has been split into four with dividing walls, made from cork board, allowing the employee to display their notes and any other necessities. After wanting more flow, for these two ideas I included pathways. They will only be painted on the ground, or made from lino set in the floor, so they are not rigid guidelines. They can obviously be strayed from but it gives a little more excitement to the journey the employee takes to their desired area. These pathways will be painted as yellow brick roads, to bring something so well known into the office space, and again take away some of the importance and significance of the job. 

Initial ideas 1 & 2

Although I do like these two floor plans, they seem a bit basic, and a little empty. I feel like the office should have a little more hustle and bustle. I like some of the individual ideas used, but it looks a little like they are set in the four corners of the room and I want it to flow more than this. For my next two I will try to mix things up a little bit, still using zoning, but trying not to be so rigid. 

Target Market

Although I have found in my research the office space does not generally reflect the company that uses it. The Interpolis building in Holland is actually a regular insurance company, although it is one of the most interesting office spaces I have seen.

After considering this I have chosen to design for a Telecom company such as BT, to prove this. Although the spaces could be slightly themed towards this idea, it does not have to revolve around it. 

The space I will design will be 25m by 25m square,and will aim to include different zones to split the space up.

Hot desking

Hot Desking is one of several new terms which were brought into common use in the 1990's to describe a new set of working practices. It is believed that this term originated from old naval practices called "hot bunking" where shifts of sailors would share limited bunk space

Hot Desking is also known as location independent working, where workers do not have their own desks, but are allocated work space according to their needs. It can be refined to mean the sharing of a desk/seat/workstation arrangement by more than one member of staff.

This type of arrangement enables employers with workers who do not have overlapping shifts or staff who are frequently out of the office to make better use of the available resources. This system of working is also well suited to firms who have staff who are frequently out of the office, for example sales people who are mostly on the road, so that space within the office does not have to be allocated for them permanently.

Bibliography:

Gordano. (2008). Hot desking. Available: http://www.gordano.com/kb.htm?q=1598. Last accessed 12th November 2011

Norman Foster

Norman Foster is another architect focused on in the series 'The secret life of buildings'. One of his most renowned projects is the Willis building, (originally the Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters). 

The building was thought to have been the first real open plan office space built in the UK. The sturdy steel and concrete frame allowed Norman Foster to cover one side of the building entirely in glass, giving the outside façade an amazing effect. 

At the time it was built in the 70's it was one of the most revolutionary buildings, creating social spaces within work. The building included a staff restaurant right at the top of the building for everyone to enjoy, and even included a swimming pool for the staff to use on their lunch breaks etc. Along with this increase of social interaction at work came a rise in productivity. The employees were happier in their 'offices' and so were turning out more work. The design also included new innovative ideas such as the reflective ceilings, bouncing light around the room, making the area seem larger and more open. 

In the 70's the inclusion of a swimming pool was radical. It was something new that no other company had done before, and was something that was not even accessible in the local area. This was something unique, and increased the companies reputation, creating more demand for jobs there. When the company was seen as looking after their employees, receiving perks that other companies could not give, more people wanted to work in the building. 

Image of the pool area, set in the very centre of the building,taken from the programme. As the building in the 90's was the youngest building to be granted grade one listing, the pool area was not allowed to be removed, but was covered up with a false flooring to create more room for office spaces. Although the swimming pool can still be seen today underneath!

Bibliography:
'The secret life of buildings' - Channel 4

Grey Matter: Erik Veldhoen

Interpolis, Tilsburg, Holland

The most interesting part of the episode focuses on an office space designed by Erik Veldhoen. 

His ingenious designs create clubhouses and smaller working spaces dependant on the mood of the worker. He explains how one office area is made for group one, using long desks, bright colours and lots of different lightshades, creating a bright happy atmosphere. He then says however if you have a headache that day you may want to work in another space which is completely white, still using interesting furniture, such as chairs and benches in the shape of people as if you are sat in their lap. He has created different 'pods' each with a different purpose. He said the employee should arrive in the morning, decide what they want to achieve that day and then they can decide where is best to do so. 

Devices such as this wall of ropes, still creates the feeling of zones, but without being shut off from the rest of the space. It allows the employees easy access without solid angular walls and doors. I would really like to use this idea as inspiration in my final designs.

Although from the programme it looks as though money has been thrown into this project creating huge costs, however because of all the different spaces and the 20% increase in productivity, the space used has been reduced by 40% saving them almost half of their original construction costs!

Tom Dychoff decides to experiment with these employees and for one day puts them in an environment similar to those of a British office space. They had plain walls, ceiling, and a simple table in the middle of the room with their computers to work on. They weren't allowed to change the temperature or open the windows. It is only until you put it into such simplistic terms that you realise how bad our office conditions can sometimes be. 

The result of this was the employees complaining of feeling tired, bored and had much less productivity. They explained that in their normal office they felt happier and so more proud of the company and the work that they were achieving. 

Full episode

Episode 2: Grey matter

This is the full episode of The secret life of buildings, looking at how our office space affects our state of mind

The affect architecture has on our state of mind

After watching the secret life of buildings, which investigates how office spaces can affect our state of mind, looking at issues such as ceiling height, it makes you realise that there are so many contributing factors, and that some ones state of mind will directly affect their work ethic and their overall productivity. 

The secret life of buildings

Bibliography:
Chen, S. (2011). The secret life of buildings. Available http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTVv8Vv9yx0. Last accessed 2nd November 2011.