You are here: Home | Useful Info | Articles | Why architects need to think inside the box when it comes to building design
Why architects need to think inside the box when it comes to building design
By Shaun Baker
With a renewed trend towards building tall and more skyscrapers appearing in our city skyline, Morgan Lovell’s Shaun Baker explores if they meet the needs of its occupiers today and in the future.
I’m always astounded by the disconnect between architecture and the function of the spaces created within. I need to be careful how I phrase my next statement as I have worked, and continue to work, with many outstanding architects. But modern architecture, and by modern I mean those buildings constructed within the last 30 years or so, owes more to the architects ego and determination to add a piece of sky high sculpture to a city’s skyline, than to the occupiers of the building.
Don’t get me wrong. I truly believe that it is right and proper that the boundaries and accepted norms in any walk of life are pushed and tested. But architects need to think inside the box. Many of the world’s highly praised and much heralded structures aimed at workplace occupiers contain soulless uninspiring spaces, compromised by the outer form of the building. This desire to create more and more outrageous forms without concern for the interior use is of great concern, especially as the concept of the workplace is more than ever under scrutiny.
Long gone are the days where departments and their managers sat in cellular isolation with senior executives further divorced in their ivory tower. Today’s workspace is all about communication, collaboration and flexibility; something that’s sadly lacking in the award-winning monoliths that litter our cities.
The slum clearances of the sixties and the failure of the high risers, if nothing else, taught us that a sense of community is vital to the success of an environment where people interact. And this is no different in the workplace. As businesses have to react to market conditions, so the workspace has to be more easily reconfigured to adapt to the requirements of the new.
The future of the workplace
The demands placed on the work environment are further complicated by the change in employment regulations. The abolition of enforced redundancy once retirement age has been reached emphasises the gulf in desires, wants and needs within the workforce itself. Three generations now occupy the work environment, from the gaming computer savvy school leaver to the grumpy old bugger in the corner who feels he should have been able to retire some ten years previously.
So what currently makes a successful workplace interior? What has been the influence on these spaces? And what can we expect in the future?
The emphasis has changed within the work environment. The new way is to give people the scope to use the office how they want at any time. It recognises remote working and the demise of the workstation as the sole place to work. The rapid progress in mobile and wireless technologies, working from home, and the rise of the coffee shop culture have been massive catalysts in people’s perceptions of what constitutes an appropriate environment to work.
Working in a softer space with access to natural daylight, personal control of the environment and refreshments on tap, have all added to a heightened expectation of the basic requirements of a workspace. And with employers’ increased awareness of the benefits of contented staff, offices are in a state of transition.
Breakout zones break free
In all studies carried out on working environments, number one on the staff’s list of priorities is for the so-called breakout zone. This is the space that the pokey tea point evolved into a decade or so ago. Ranging from a small, comfy lounge to an all-singing, all-dancing games emporium, these areas have proved to be a huge success, and rightly so. They allow staff to have a proper rest from their work zone, encourage interaction, and prove to be great places to have informal meetings, taking the pressure off of more structured facilities in the building.
However, as described many moons ago by a people poet of some note, ‘the times they are a-changing’. The breakout zones have broken out. No longer confined to the darkest corner of the office they have broken free of their tea point heritage and have grown to be the dominant feature in a new and exciting dynamic landscape.
The concept of an assigned desk now seems dated. The success of hot desk allocation for transient and contract staff has prompted employers to re-evaluate office based workers needs. With rising costs and space rentals at the level they currently demand, businesses are working to reduce workstation numbers.
Whether it has basic furniture or a bespoke designed feature, the breakout zone is coming of age. Morphing into lounges, or informal or power meeting areas, the humble breakout is finding itself centre stage and a focal point in the general open plan work environment. From the funkiest marketing company to the most traditional of legal enterprises, employers are realising the benefits of softer, less confrontational meeting areas.
I can see a future where the desk has become a secondary feature within the workspace and we all work in pseudo coffee shop lounges with the ability to access a larger surface or confidential cellular facility if and when required. But only when the latest award-winning, vegetable-shaped, shardy-mile-high-arrow buildings architect stops to think within his box.
Let us inspire you more
You can visit one of our fully-sustainable offices, or we can come to your place and consult on your office. Whichever suits you. Either way it all starts with a phone call – 0800 028 0945.
Get in touch