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Home Checklists How to design your office
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Wondering where to start with outlining your office design? Our proven seven-step guide will take you through the basics, and where to start.
Before you even think about a design for your new office, it's best to take a quick look at how your current space works and how your staff are using their office. This will give you both qualitative and quantitative evidence to base your future design decisions. Both are equally important and need to be considered in tandem, as to how your staff feel about their space and how they actually use their space can often be quite different.
The very first step is to find out what you're doing well, and where there could be room for improvement, and what better place to start than with the people using the space every day - your staff! Create a survey and ask your colleagues (not just the managers) what they think about the current office layout and design.
What do they like? How do they feel in the space? What do they think could be improved? Does it help them be more productive, or is it a hindrance? Is it somewhere they look forward to being each day?
You can quickly create a free, anonymous online survey with tools like SurveyMonkey.
Once you know how your staff feel about the office, it's time to start with the quantitative spatial analysis. This looks at the utilisation of the space, specifically: How is your office space currently being used? How much time is being spent at desks and in meeting rooms? Are they often left empty or vacant? How often are the break-out areas and kitchens being used? Have some people got too much space whilst others have too little? Are some parts of the office used a lot whilst other areas are hardly used at all?
These first two steps are crucial in starting your office design journey on the right foot.
A well-written design brief is one of the most useful documents you can have for your project.
This will be a key document that can be referred back to throughout the project, especially if decisions need to be clarified or substantiated at a later stage. This should contain your vision for the new office, along with any business or facilities needs that should be considered. This could also set out new ways of working that you'd like to achieve; such as introducing hot-desking or increasing breakout spaces. The document should also include brand values, work ethos and sign-off from senior management.
Look at how your business works now and think about how the company might grow in the future. Will certain departments need more space in the coming years? Or less?
Work with the IT team and find out what technology the new office needs to fully support the way your colleagues work. Think about computers, printers, visitor services, audiovisual equipment, comms rooms, wireless networks and audio or video conferencing facilities.
It's easier to get your technology needs in place right from the beginning. Rather than trying to accommodate extra computers once the office design has been completed.
Find out how much storage you really need. Not enough storage space can frustrate your colleagues and cause clutter. And too much storage could be costly when you consider how much your office costs per square foot.
Take a comprehensive look at your new building. If you feel something isn't working the way it should, now's the time to negotiate with the landlord.
As part of your survey:
If your business has a CSR policy, an office design project is a great opportunity for you to strengthen your 'green' credentials by gaining a BREEAM, LEED or Ska rating.
Download Morgan Lovell's Choosing the Right Office Space Checklist for a comprehensive look at all the things you need to consider when evaluating office space for rent or purchase.
Getting the right team on board is the difference between having a project that runs super-smoothly and one that gives you sleepless nights. Choose a Project Champion (this could be you) who will co-ordinate everything internally and be the point of contact for the design team and management. It could always be an idea to choose the most organised - and calm - person in the office. You'll need someone who can keep everything on track!
You also need to involve a senior decision maker; this could always be the senior manager that's found the budget to deliver the project. You'll want someone at the top who can make decisions quickly and won't delay the project.
When it comes to choosing an office designer you'll need to ensure they have:
Ask about their previous work and have them give you a tour of their clients' offices. Get a list of all their previous projects, including sizes, budget and sectors.
Office design is a specialist skill and not to be confused with other design disciplines. Be sure your designer specialises in office design and fit out. This will save you time and money down the road.
Has your design company got a good track record? Don't be afraid to ask for customer satisfaction scores, net promoter scores and a client list. A reputable design company will be happy for you to speak to their clients and visit completed projects.
Make sure your designer has the right accreditations. If you're going for a 'green' office, look for BREEAM, LEED or Ska accredited designers.
Look for a design team that has a 3D visualizer and a CAD technician. The 3D visualizer will bring your project to life before the build. And your CAD technician will ensure the designs can be built to your exact specifications.
Make sure you choose a financially stable company that will be around to finish your project. Download Morgan Lovell's Financial Stability Checklist to see what to look out for.
This is the part that will be of most interest to your finance director: What's it going to cost?
However, all jokes aside - it is important to have a realistic understanding of what your project is going to cost before getting underway. It'll make sure that you don't over-promise on the scope of works when negotiating a budget with your internal stakeholders, and also ensure that you're getting realistic value from your design partners.
A good office design and build company will give you a detailed estimate before the project begins and before any invoices come your way.
Design and fit out costs can vary greatly from building to building. A space that needs more capital works could considerably increase the costs compared to just delivering a Cat B fit out in a modern development.
Investing in energy-saving equipment for your office can be more tax efficient. Check out the Enhanced Capital Allowances scheme through the Carbon Trust.
This is the stage of your project where you'll get to work with your designer to establish how your office interior is going to look. Minimal, glossy, classic, white, quirky, fun, serious, traditional...or something completely different? It's when you'll get the chance to reflect your brand throughout your fit out and give the office some personality.
Discuss the problems you have with your existing office and come up with some creative ideas for your new one.
With literally thousands of photos available it's worth looking at other companies' office designs to get a feel for the style you're after.
Visit other offices wherever possible to get a good understanding of what works (and what doesn't). A good office design company will take you to look at their previous projects.
Get your designer to do some quick concept drawings to show how the office might look.
Have your office design company pull together a collection of samples so you can touch and feel the materials that will go into your new office.
Get your designers to create life-like computer visuals (stills) of the important areas of your office. These will show you exactly what your new office will look like.
Have your design team create animated 3D walkthroughs. They're perfect for illustrating a journey from one part of the office to another.
Deciding who sits where and which area will be used for what activity needs to be carefully thought through if you want to maximise your space. This is a great time to think about team proximity (who works near who) and which teams may be expanding in the near future, and what shared facilities each team will require. For example, IT may require permanent desks with access to server facilities, while a marketing team would be happier to hot-desk and embrace activity-based working.
With space planning you'll need to think about
There are standard measurements for corridor widths, tea point sizes, copy areas, meeting rooms, receptions and the amount of square footage someone needs to work comfortably. You'll find an experienced office design company will often have its own space planning accommodation standards developed through years of experience
For your space plan to work, it must take into consideration access to IT, telecoms and small power. For example, does your office have raised flooring to make running cables easier? If so, you'll have a lot more flexibility with your office layout. If not, you'll have to space plan your workstations with access to a wall or ceiling with power and data
A well considered space plan accommodates the changing needs of your business. For example, a flexible space that can be used for either break-out or workstations will save you time and money in the future if your business needs change
Most office leases require you to restore the office to the condition in which you found it. That means you'll most likely be ripping out everything you put in. So consider this from the outset and save yourself the hassle in the future
Any changes within your space need to be approved by your landlord. A design package needs to be put together showing all changes, construction activity, workman access and disruptions. Make sure you plan enough time for landlord approvals, as they always take longer than you would expect
What's going into your office? One of the final steps in designing your office is to choose soft furnishings such as carpets, blinds, fabrics, paint, furniture and storage solutions. These are a great chance to reflect your brand and overall spirit of your teams through the chosen furniture - so choose carefully!
Ask your office designers to show you tried and tested products that stand up to the rigours of an office environment
Your colleagues will rate their desks and chairs as the most important items in the office. So work with your designer to get this right.
Designer tip! Check with your suppliers their lead times and delivery schedules to make sure these aren't subject to seasonal variations and everything fits in with your project timeline.
In addition to the latest legislative requirements, going 'green' within your office will reduce energy bills and support your company's CSR credentials. See Morgan Lovell's Sustainable Office Design Checklist for a more detailed breakdown.
A BREEAM, LEED or Ska rating confirms your office was designed and built to an environmental standard. It helps you prove your company is committed to providing an environmentally friendly office
There are hundreds of options now available. Choose products that are recyclable or contain high recycled content
There could be a whole checklist just for office energy efficiency. But it's worth noting that it should be considered as early in the design process as possible. True energy efficiency takes into account systems, people, fixtures, fittings, furniture, daylight and the fabric of the building. Let your designer know you think it's important
Include wireless energy meters throughout your office. This will enable you to track energy use floor by floor or on major assets, such as air conditioning and copiers, or by building. Energy monitoring will help you spot problem areas straight away and reduce carbon emissions
If you incorporate the three 'Rs' into your office design, you'll save money. For instance, is there furniture that can be reused in your new office?
This is the final stage in the design process
Designer tip! Furniture orders can often go wrong on delivery day, especially when a furniture company thinks of your order as small (less than a hundred workstations). So order your furniture through an independent and reputable company who has considerable buying power and will make sure your furniture arrives on time and is assembled properly.Follow these seven steps to ensure your office design project runs smoothly. Or get in touch with the office design team at Morgan Lovell for more advice.