Work is Changing
There are now options and expectations around where we want to work and the quality of the setting for work. Carving a space to work from home is easier if your home is not too small; you may prefer to avoid regular commuting and choose to co-work near home on your local High Street as these areas are re-invented. Or your office may consider creating a more hotel like atmosphere for working, meeting and team work.
Your new work/ life pattern may become a combination of all these changes.
Each of these workplaces can benefit from a clear design which optimises space for both efficiency and well-being. Continue below for more about how we can help you with your way forward.
Working from Home
Understanding the layout of your home can help clarify the best place to set up a workspace. A separate zone for work will help in concentration and you will want daylight and a restful view as a counterpoint to focussed work You may wish to arrange an appropriate backdrop for virtual meetings.
In designing a new live/ work home the separation between different activities can be a key aspect of the house’s layout. Working spaces can be tailored to the work required, much more than the adapted bedroom or loft space of an old house. In the prototype shown on this page a glazed hallway links the two parts of the house; clients and visitors and material flows can be managed independently of the activity of a family home.
Contact me on jdnapier1@yahoo.co.uk for an initial consultation to discuss how your existing space can be reconfigured, or if you are considering the benefits of a new proposal
Co-Working near Home
There will be times when the convenience of working from home is outweighed by a need to work more effectively and with a higher level of business support. However you don’t need to commute all the way to the office today, or perhaps as a freelancer you consider the local co-working hub to be your professional base away from home.
You may be joining a local hub or you may be part of a group setting up a co-working business. Unused buildings of a variety of types can find new life as co -working spaces and help regenerate spaces such as High Streets which have suffered from changes in the economic landscape.
The hub needs to be welcoming and have a combination of spaces for both casual and formal meetings as well as space for working as an individual and in a small group. Concepts for food, drink, relaxation and meeting complement the idea of renting a desk in a local workspace.
The design of co-working spaces highlights friendliness and healthy living in the use of colour, texture and indoor planting as well as a choice between formal and informal work settings.
Contact me on jdnapier1@yahoo.co.uk for an initial consultation on how your co-working scheme can be created and optimised
Adapting the Office
A city centre office today exists in a world where many staff feel they have the option of working from home. The space should offer a more attractive setting and not need to rely on coercion to ensure that staff are supporting the company in an optimal way. The office can bring back some of the elements of the ‘club in town’ that is part of its origin.
The office can offer higher specification equipment and software and better team working than that which is possible with remote working. Meeting rooms can combine face to face working with virtual connectivity seamlessly.
Ongoing adaptations should be mindful of wasteful replacement of physical settings and good design will allow the flexibility of usage as working methods constantly change.
Adaptations will create more intimate spaces within the generic space inherited from the developer or landlord’s base building. Over-glazing can be addressed to reduce cooling loads and roof gardens and courtyards animated with planting and relaxing areas.
For an initial consultation about revitalising and optimising your head office please contact me at jdnapier1@yahoo.co.uk