The report goes on to say, “The most innovative work spaces take into account lots of factors, from the very mundane, like where people sit and where the office coffee machine is located, to the more complicated, like whom they talk to during the day and how they use technology.”

Forbes goes a step further with a new list titled “4 Ways To Get Your Office Space Ready for 2020.” The magazine’s list reads as follows:

• Team rooms These are large rooms where employees are grouped by specific work teams. All these employees who are working on the same aspect of a product can interact directly.
• Desks designed for pairing For this you’ll need wide desks that allow you to sit shoulder-to-shoulder so you can work effectively and knowledge-share. The pairs can examine their data in common spaces to influence their decisions.
• Built-in collaboration spaces Team rooms should encourage collaborative work. This can look like a room outfitted with a large whiteboard that will allow workers to diagram their ideas for the rest of the team. Forbes goes on to suggest, “Near each whiteboard is a high-def TV connected to AirPlay. This wireless setup is frictionless, and far faster than fumbling with adapters and cables. Each TV is near a couch, two chairs, and coffee table. There’s even whiteboards in hallways – because sometimes hallway conversations are the most important ones.”
• Rooms that encourage employees to have fun while working Forbes suggest things like embedded speakers in the ceiling for people to listen to music, satellite TVs in each room, and even gaming rooms.

No matter how you decide to design your office space, look no further than Office Space Planners for your office planning, design, and project management needs. When it comes to commercial space planning, we provide illustrations that document every aspect of your room, including structural walls, interior walls, furniture layout, furniture panel systems, filing systems, equipment and phone locations, voice and data connections, electrical wiring and outlets, demolished walls, carpet seaming, reflected ceilings, and lighting.

As we move into the future and everyone’s looking for the best design to get the most productivity out of their offices. To stay ahead of the curve, you need expert designers and project managers who can solve your specific needs. For all of your office space needs, you can’t go wrong with Office Space Planners!

The post Preparing Your Office Space for 2020 appeared first on Office Space Planners.

One of the little joys of a home office is the process of setting one up. Of course, it is much simpler to design a home office than a corporate one, but many of the same principles are valid for both! Here is a guide on setting up a home office:

-Start by listing the supplies that you need to get the office set up. This should be done before you even allocate a space in your home for the office, as the process of thinking of what your office needs often guides you toward the ideal location to set up the space. Common items for this list of fundamental office needs could be desks, computers, phones, office chairs, a reliable Internet connection, a lamp, and other items specific to the job you will be performing.

-Select an area of your home in which to set up the office. Of course, the location will be dictated by how much space you have available, but you should seek a place in your home that is quiet and offers privacy. A home office set up, say, next to a television set or a child’s crib is unlikely to provide the best working environment!

-Set up proper lighting for your office. Some people are dedicated fans of natural light, and if this is your preference, it would behoove you to have a lamp or overhead light provide it on a regular basis. For those who will take any light they can get, the options are wider and cheaper. Minimizing eye strain should be the goal of any office lighting plan.

-Perhaps the most vital step is to keep your office separated from your home life. This should be done both physically, by keeping the office separate from the rest of your home, and in your daily habits. Once you enter the office area, be sure that you are ready to work—don’t play games or talk with friends while using your designated office space, if you can avoid it!

Home office planning is a fun project to undertake, but trust the pros to design company office spaces. For all your office planning needs, consult Office Space Planners!

The post Setting up the Modern Home Office appeared first on Office Space Planners.

While no overriding trends have dictated office space demand and availability worldwide, certain cities have seen dramatic changes. Here is a survey of office space demand and activity in world cities from recent years:

-Beijing, China’s densely populated, smog-ridden capital city, has seen office space prices skyrocket. The city’s average office price now exceeds that of two of the world’s longtime business strongholds, Tokyo and New York! Each square meter of office space in Beijing’s Central Business District costs an average of $1412 per year. Better start saving up!

-Surprisingly, the city with the most quickly decreasing office space prices in the U.S. is Chattanooga, Tennessee. As demand has dropped in the city and vacant offices have drifted out of usable condition, rents have fallen a shade under one percent per year despite a worldwide trend of booming office space demand. Perhaps a place for entrepreneurs on a budget to consider!

-As mentioned above, New York City and London are two of the most competitive cities to seek and build office space in. While London has often threatened to outstrip New York as the Western world’s business and finance capital, New York is currently building new office spaces at a quicker pace than Britain’s capital is.

-Perhaps the glitziest office project in Manhattan, New York’s business borough, is Related’s 30 Hudson Yards, which will be Time Warner’s hew environs. The building boasts a whopping 2.6 million square feet of space. Other major Manhattan undertakings include 3 World Trade Center, One Sono Square, and 7 Bryant Park. All in all, the Midtown district, Midtown West, and downtown areas of Manhattan figure to see an expansion to the tune of 17 million combined square feet of office space between 2015 and 2018 thus far.

-London, on the other hand, projects to gain 14 million square feet of office space from 2015 to 2018. This figure is middling compared to some of the world’s other designated “finance capitals,” but London is not lacking for arrivals of new businesses and jobs, so its demand figures to rise!

For all your office space planning and building needs, see what Office Space Planners can do for you! Request a quote online today.

The post Office Space Markets Around the World appeared first on Office Space Planners.

The last post on this topic discussed the case for open office layouts. Now it is time to have a look at the chief arguments against these office space designs—here’s an overview of some of the major anti-open space points:

-The concept that employees will work more efficiently when placed in an open space together is, according to some, fundamentally misguided. For all the perceived benefits of an open office—a more social office, a less claustrophobic office layout, and so forth—it is not entirely clear how the open design fosters productivity. While the model has worked in some places—Google and Facebook especially come to mind—the open-office concept may not be a one-size-fits-all solution for companies.

-Communication between employees may become less sincere and private when it occurs in an open office space. When employees talk to one another in closed office spaces, they have to go out of their way to do so and usually communicate in relative privacy. However, in open office spaces, conversation between workers is so commonplace and can be heard by enough other workers that this conversation may take on a more formal tenor. This may be a concern for those looking to build camaraderie among workers.

-Introverted employees in particular may struggle with the lack of privacy and exposure to co-workers which come with the open office space model. The intimacy and security of a cubicle or personal office are treasured by many, and to sacrifice these traits is to risk irking a certain portion of a company’s employees!

-The noise level in open offices may be distracting to employees at times. Obviously, minimizing distractions is a chief goal for office space designers. However, the open office design may be antithetical to this aim in some cases. An open office space must be carefully acoustically planned so that noise will not echo. Even if the noise level is reduced in an open office, though, a cubicle-based office layout has the benefit of providing employees with ready-made shields against ambient noise. For all the criticism the cubicle faces these days, three walls can still keep out a good deal of distractions!

For all your office planning needs and ambitions, Office Space Planners is here to help out. Come find out what we have to offer today!

The post Open Offices: Distracting or Liberating? Part Two appeared first on Office Space Planners.

This blog will look at both sides of the dilemma in successive posts. First, let’s have a look at the pro-open-office case:

-Cubicles and small offices can decrease worker satisfaction and comfort. Cubicle office spaces, the chief alternative to open office spaces, have acquired a bad reputation in recent years. Maybe it is just fashion, but many workers have complained of the confined and monochromatic nature of cubicle offices. An open office space represents a fundamental shift from the idea of confining each worker to a small space by seeking to keep channels of communication open and avoid a claustrophobic office layout.

-When well-implemented, open offices have the capacity to improve work flow and communication. Walls are seen by some industry insiders as barriers to employee communication, and the modern trend is thus to tear them down. Extroverted employees in particular tend to benefit from the increased likelihood of personal interaction that comes with open office spaces.

-Startup companies in particular have long been loyal to the open office layout. To many, the concept of the open office encapsulates the spirit of free-thinking and innovation. Smaller companies in particular often have little need to physically separate employees’ work spaces—after all, small groups of employees are less likely to distract one another than larger ones when sharing space.

Even some notable former startups that have made it all the way to the Fortune 500 have stayed loyal to the open office layout—Google and Facebook come to mind!

-The modern trend toward open office spaces continues, and shows no signs of abetting. A report by architecture firm Gensler on design trends for 2014 noted, “Organizations will get serious about the problems of mobility and collaboration. As they recognize the benefits of face-to-face interaction, ‘getting everyone under one roof’ will grow.” The report acknowledges that open offices are not a cure-all for worker interaction issues, adding, “Mitigating conflicts between interactive and focused work will be a top priority, given the negative impact of distraction on people’s effectiveness.”

Wherever you stand on the open office space debate, Office Space Planners is ready to help out with your office design projects and ambitions! Come get a quote online today.

The post Open Offices: Distracting or Liberating? Part One appeared first on Office Space Planners.

Applying some principles of office economy to your office space layout will reap great benefits, though. It is possible to do more with less space in an office—here are some ways to get the most out of office space:

-Don’t let common areas go unused. There is no need to get too caught up in the restrictions of small private offices. After all, office spaces come with a great deal of open, common space! These areas can be used for meetings, appliances, tasteful decorations, and a great deal of other useful purposes.

-Use less paper. Of course, there is the obvious environmental detriment of paper waste from using too many paper products at an office. However, it is easy to forget how much physical space is needed to accommodate the necessary equipment to store and print paper! Printers, filing cabinets, and paper storage all use a great deal of space in an office. Try to do more of your work electronically.

-Hold meetings standing up. This will both reduce the need for costly extra ergonomic chairs in meeting rooms, and allow meetings to be held in smaller areas. In fact, the common areas, mentioned above, can be repurposed as meeting areas!

-Rid the office space of clutter. Clutter may be hard to define in this context, but we take it to mean extravagant allocation of space for mementos, amusements, and other non-work items. Of course the right balance must be struck, and break rooms can be wonderful things—but when employees with larger offices are filling two-thirds of their space or more with personal items, you have to question why you gave them so much space!

-Let there be light. Don’t allocate too much space for floor lamps—there are other, more cost- and space-effective ways to satisfactorily light an office space. Consider overhead LED lighting and LED desk lamps.

At Office Space Planners, we have a track record of high quality and space-efficient office designs. We serve all fifty U.S. states and all varieties of office types and styles. So why wait? Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you!

The post Making the Most of Office Space: Maximalist Approaches appeared first on Office Space Planners.

Here is a roll call of some of the sillier office design objects of recent years. Are they too goofy to fit in a corporate office space, or tons of fun? Your call:

-A Disco tunnel. One of these late 70s relics can be found at the offices of advertising agency Karmarama. Designed to make the office feel fun, creative, and inviting, this disco-themed tunnel leads into the building’s office area. The offices of Karmarama also include an actual VW camper van, a giant plastic llama, and a red Buddha replica.

-A “grass” floor. Such a carpeting arrangement can be seen in the office building of Innocent Drinks. Indeed, artificial turf covers the entire building’s floor! The offices also include a reading corner with a wide selection of books, a kitchen area full of natural light and benches, and tea stations on every floor.

-Picnic benches. These are a mainstay at England’s Duke Studios, whose office interior has an outdoorsy aesthetic about it. The office area, which took cues from those of Google and Pixar, houses forty-two separate small creative businesses. The office is designed as an open space, as opposed to closed office or cubicle-based spaces, and is intended to encourage employees to communicate with one another while on the job! A noble aim.

-Sky-themed ceilings. Virgin Money’s offices are known for sky-patterned ceiling tiles, which, if photographed in the right lighting, can be difficult to distinguish from the outdoor daytime sky! The ceiling design is aimed at fostering creativity in employees, and to fend off any possible nighttime or early-morning work blues. After all, it always looks like it’s a blue daylight sky there!

-Padded walls, Wieden + Kennedy. The famed advertising agency is known for having mental ward-style colorful padded walls on many of its offices! According to the company, the idea arose from a joking comment to the company’s creative director that, “The way you carry on, you should be in a padded cell.” And indeed he is!

For all things office design and office planning, Office Space Planners has solutions. To find out more about what Office Space Planners can do for you, see our website today!

The post Trendy Office Designs Pushing the Limits: Goofy Office Objects appeared first on Office Space Planners.

Many examples of inventive office design can be seen in the technology world. Here are a few examples of creative office designs:

-Google’s giant slides between floors. Google’s many office buildings are known for such quirks as slides that allow employees to take a fun, playground-style route between floors! Other Google office Easter eggs include fire poles, a cattle walkway, and more.

-Microsoft’s giant touchscreen-shaped tables. Table, tablet, same thing, right? Microsoft has some tables designed in the fashion of tablets peppered throughout its office buildings.

-Bowling alleys at the office, anyone? Infosys is known for encouraging athletic activity at the office, sometimes in unusual ways! The Infosys offices include such facilities as ping-pong and squash courts, a swimming pool, and a full-size bowling alley! Their offices have also been known to contain meditation centers.

-Groupon’s offices are full of modern interpretations of office design. For starters, the walls of some of their offices are decorated with postmodern color, design, and furnishing schemes.

-Need a break on the job? Facebook anticipates that its employees might. That’s why Facebook’s office comes with a fancy video game playing room, with arcade games, various consoles, and modern street art-inspired designs on the walls!

-Inventionland, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an obligatory mention on any list of creative office designs! Since Inventionland is the corporate headquarters of Davison Design & Development, and is the location of the company’s main brainstorming efforts, perhaps it is natural that an off-the-wall office design would be in order there. Inventionland’s office space is full of such crazy ideas as giant shoes (inhabited by old ladies, perhaps), other nursery rhyme imagery, postmodern optical illusion-inspired art and decoration, and mock lakes and harbors located within the workspace. Certainly some creative ideas here!

-Bahnhof, a Swedish Internet providing giant, has delightfully futuristic office designs. Some of them look directly out of a secret agent film, with cave-styled walls and ceilings, various flora and fauna gracing offices, and many more original innovations!

Office Space Planners is ready to provide you with office solutions, whether you are seeking conventional or offbeat ideas! Contact us today to find out more.

The post Zany Office Design Ideas from Tech Giants appeared first on Office Space Planners.

Ideally, every company would get to design elaborate offices such as the ones used at giants like Facebook and Google. When working with limited resources, however, both employees who work in offices and the companies which lease them have to make some crucial decisions. When it comes time to make such a decision, here are some guiding principles to bear in mind for creative office design:

-Let employees have a say in their offices’ designs. Not every employee will get to break your bank to get the office they desire, but give them some input into the layout and format of their desk, cubicle, or office. Encourage them to decorate their surroundings as well.

-This may be a more controversial point, but many believe that color matters in office design! An all-gray office does not seem to inspire creativity in workers. According to some prominent color theorists, blue is a stabilizing color, green is a harmonizing color, and red is an energizing color as perceived by the human mind. Sound speculative at all? Maybe, but it’s worth consideration!

-Put a personal company stamp on the design. Your company’s culture, mission, and brand should somehow be incorporated into your office design aesthetics. Recurring symbols, patterns, and color schemes are good touches to keep in mind. A company that knows its mission knows how to do a good job designing an office. That much is for sure!

-Be creative if whole rooms aren’t available for offices. We aren’t suggesting dogmatic adherence to the cubicle office, but there is no reason you can’t carve out a corner of a room into an office space! In fact, the farther from a cubicle you depart, the more inviting the office will appear to most contemporary employees. Consider open space offices.

-Keep everything organized. Even offices that show flourishes of creativity ought to be well-ordered. Research has consistently shown that tidier work spaces lead to higher worker productivity. The archetype of the absent-minded creative genius is more myth than fact.

Whatever your office design and planning needs may be, Office Space Planners is here and happy to help out! Give us a call today to find out more.

The post Creative Office Space Ideas appeared first on Office Space Planners.