How to create an ideal office space
Virtual Office, Office of your Dreams, Home Office or… Working from Home?
Is the office dead?
The answer will depend on who you ask. Multiple surveys show that the current workforce has 3 equal preferences :
- the office is the best environment to work
- flexibility and ability to choose a workspace according to the type of work is the best
- working remotely or from home is the best solution.
If you are looking to embrace all of these needs at once, the solution is a flexible office.
How do you know if you’ve succeeded in creating a flexible office? Being able to say, “We have created/provided the best office environment possible. If employees aren’t here, they probably have a clear reason or prefer to WFH”, is a good indicator.
Jan Gehl, Danish architect and urban design consultant
If you are ready to embrace this flexible future of work, it’s time to redesign the office accordingly and provide options for remote employees to have similar work conditions (membership in a good co-working space may be a great option).
Sheryl Jensen asks:
- We have designed various corners of our workspace — Livit Hub Bali —to accommodate community and coffee chats, larger gatherings, working/learning alone or in a group, having a quiet moment or some time for self-reflection. This is possible as we have four floors and 1200m2 to accommodate all of this. Regardless of how much space you have a good suggestion is to create an ergonomically comfortable living room.
- The future of office design needs to be more intentional, rather than traditional, considering the types of activities undertaken in each space. We can already see a lot of companies redesigning and re-naming their offices as ‘campuses’, ‘studios’ and ‘hubs’.
Designing the office of your dreams
If you have a more significant number of employees to accommodate, you may look at a larger space and design it for your needs. You might find these 12 rules of a great public space based on the principles of Jan Gehl from his book “Cities for People” useful. Danish and Swedish public spaces are designed based on these principles.
To make people want to come back to work in an office, your space has to nail these two aspects:
Productivity & Comfort
As it’s a place to work, good tables and ergonomic chairs are a must. You may be tempted to reinvent the workspace as anything other than an office, but the ability to sit comfortably while working on a computer is essential. If possible, a few standing tables would be a great add-on.
Feeling at home
Wanting to be somewhere comes down to—in addition to work—what they can do in the space. Think about creating places people can meditate, take a nap, pray, snack, chat with colleagues, smoke, etc? All of these small things make people feel “at home” and help them be more creative.
Rating checklist - 12 points
If you are committed to creating the best workplace possible, here is a complete checklist. You can use this guide as a rating tool—you get one point for each answer (can you get to 12?).
Comfort
Seating—spaces for sitting in various ways, as if it was a living room
Standing—spots where people can work, chat, eat, drink while standing
Ambience— plants, natural features like an aquarium or a mini fountain, murals, sculptures etc
Space to move—ability to walk around while talking on the phone for example
Socialize—cozy corners with sofas or chairs, that feel private and are good for conversations tete-a-tete and in small groups
Play—add fun elements to your workspace like swings, murals team members can contribute to, giant Lego blocks, a ping pong table etc
Security
Traffic & Transportation—evaluate the traffic and availability of local transport surrounding your office
Feeling Safe—is it light enough in your office at night? Are there people around to make employees feel safe?
Crime—if crime is a factor in your neighborhood is there extra security provided for the building, whether that’s a person or CCTV?
Space
Climate—do you have temperature control, whether it’s heating or cooling? If there are outdoor areas, are they usable in all kinds of weather, rain, sun, wind and snow?
Design—how does the space make your employees feel, does it feel like ‘home’?
Scale—do you have a range of large and small spaces that employees can use for different purposes?
We are happy to address your questions about creating a great place to work and schedule a free 30-min consultation!
Finding a great co-working space
We had a difficult time listing just five, but here are some of the great co-working spaces we have tried ourselves and absolutely loved working from. One of them may inspire you, or might just be your future office.
1. Ministry of New in Mumbai
Consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful coworking spaces in the world, Ministry of New is based in Fort Mumbai, India, and is a design-led project for independent professionals looking to be part of an international creative community. The Ministry is hands down one of our favorite places in the world thanks to its inspiring, calm, productive vibe and the fantastic people that make the team and community behind it.
2. The Working Capitol Singapore (TWC)
Occupying a three-story heritage building in Singapore’s Chinatown, TWC was named the country’s best coworking space by Huffington Post. And it fully deserves its reputation. It features gorgeously designed interiors and carefully curated programs to nurture its community. Founded by siblings Ben and Saranta Gattie in 2015, it aims to be a one-stop shop offering, beyond work spaces, event spaces, meeting rooms, showers, a magazine library, a cafe, storage lockers, a network of professional service providers, wellness programs with on-site experts to help its members optimise their work and life, and more.
3. Colony in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The first upscale space to open in Malaysia, Colony is a hospitality-inspired coworking space originally nestled in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, now featuring multiple locations across the city (Star Boulevard, Eco City, KLCC, Mutiara Damansar).
Colonial-inspired aesthetics and stunning themes, staff that goes the extra mile, comfortable seating and attention to detail are just a few of the aspects that give Colony a distinctive vibe.
4. HUBBA Thailand in Bangkok
HUBBA’s owners are the pioneers of the coworking eco-system in Thailand, which makes it the meeting place of the new wave of Bangkok startups. The space has all the traits of an awesome coworking experience—a great community of both local Thai and remote workers, a wonderful team, good facilities and a variety of gatherings and events that allow you to quickly get synced into the scene.
5. Betahaus in Barcelona, Spain
Based in Gràcia, Barcelona, Betahaus is a flexible coworking space for remote workers and companies, offering a choice of different areas across five chilled-out floors, each equipped with great lighting. It features a fantastic, friendly community, stunning views of the city, countless networking opportunities and a sense of freedom to work, collaborate, and grow whenever and wherever you prefer while enjoying life.
