When considering your office design it is worth planning ahead; after all you don’t want to have to redesign everything just a few months later because of an increase in staff headcount. Allowing for flexibility within your workplace design, particularly through including alternative workspace environments (such as breakout, hotdesk and touchdown areas), means that should you have a requirement for additional fixed desking in the future, you could replace some of the flexible spaces with desking. We often include maximum density space plans in our projects, and although these are rarely actually implemented (as they are literally at the limit of what can be safely and legally accommodated), they are very useful as they show what the absolute capacity of your office space is, allowing you to plan for the future. For example if you know that your office could hold a maximum of 120 staff, and you have 100 currently, then you know that you could potentially fit in an extra 20, but no more. Therefore if you are predicting a headcount increase of 40 staff in the next 2 years, it would be worth looking at additional office space, or implementing a desk share, hotelling or home working policy.

If you would like us to advise how to make the most of your office space, just give us a call.

Many companies have office layouts that are inefficient due to the way that they have grown organically, rather than having been properly space planned. There are many problems that can occur when an office has not been formally planned, and through our office design service we can make major improvements to your overall layout. This can help to increase the capacity of the space, to make walkways and fire routes more prominent, to clearly identify teams and boundaries and perhaps most importantly at the moment to ensure that you are not wasting money on unnecessary office space. Our service allows us to identify any areas that are under utilised, and show where additional desks could be accommodated whilst still using your existing furniture and storage. This means you get a very cost effective office design service, and once we have up to date plans of your office space, we can make future changes very quickly at minimal expense. Our plans comply with all necessary Health & Safety, DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) and Fire Regulations and we can even help with your DSE (Display Screen Equipment) risk assessments. Contact us to discuss how we can help.

As well as producing 2d space plans, we also carry out 3d design services, but what exactly does this involve and what are the benefits? Put simply a 2d plan shows how a re-designed office would look as viewed from above; this is essential so that you know what will fit in, and that are you providing for all the required walkways and circulation routes. However the 2d plan is a view of the office that you will never actually get to see, and so this is the main benefit of using 3d design services in office design and space planning, which give you a realistic eye level view. Once we have an agreed 2d space plan, we are able to use this information, along with measurements and photos taken on site, to produce a 3d CAD model. We can then show this model as a series of views both at eye level and from above to show you exactly what your project will look like when completed. We can even show how it would look with different colour schemes and materials and also try out various different options such as open plan versus a layout with some cellular offices. In addition to this we can even produce a video walkthrough, which is a very realistic animated video taking a walk straight through your proposed office design. If you would to see some samples of this, try our gallery page, or drop us a line and we can email you some samples.

Furniture design evolves both with fashion and function changes, and in particular recently there has been a return to smaller office desks mainly due to technological changes. The average PC and monitor is now much smaller than it was a few years ago and this means that desks no longer need to be as large to accommodate them. Gradually more and more of the day to day office tasks are being  done solely over the computer, and so there is less need for storage and desk space for dealing with paperwork. The current economic climate also means that people are wanting to get the best out of their space, and so furniture design is reflecting this with more smaller desk systems, and also more dual purpose, flexible furniture. With more offices using wifi wireless technology, and the potential for wireless electricity transmission not far away, the offices of tomorrow are likely to change further, moving away from the standard stationary desk per person to a more fluid and flexible office with furniture that can be adapted to suit the task in hand.

The current furniture design trends are for a very minimalist neat approach; there has been a huge amount of influence from the “Apple effect” with white gloss desks and cupboards being very trendy at the moment; giving a very clean effect. To add a bit of colour and life to the office a few items of classic designer furniture, such as a Jacobsen Egg chair, or a group of Verner Panton chairs can be added making the office look very contemporary. It is worth noting that whilst desks and storage are evolving, the design classics still look modern today, and there is more and more of a cross over from domestic designer furniture to the office.

If you would like advice as what furniture would suit your office design, give us a call on 0845 166 8381.

There are many companies that can recommend and supply office furniture, so what makes us different. Well, we are a fully independent space planning company, which means that we are not tied to any supplier or product range, and therefore we only recommend the products that will suit you best, rather than what would suit us best. This means that you get unbiased advice and we can suggest furniture companies that will supply you with the best office furniture for your needs. Every office is different and not all will need top-end expensive furniture, and we are able to give you details for companies that specialise in simple effective furniture, as well as companies that have very solid, hardwearing furniture that is designed to stand up to many office moves. We can even advise on furniture recycling and disposal if you are considering a total revamp. Additionally we are able to carry out furniture condition surveys, these are accurate colour coded plans that show your existing layout and the state of each office desk, office chair and item of storage. This can be particularly useful for larger companies that have a large amount of furniture and know that some of it is past its best, but other parts are perfectly serviceable. We would test each chair, each drawer etc, and then rate each item of furniture as to whether it should be replaced, or is in good working order.  The plans are then marked up with coloured hatching so it is very simple to see exactly what is where and its condition.

If you would like our advice about your office furniture, give us a call to discuss.

Office chairs are often overlooked when considering the ideal office design, but they are actually a very important tool to the office worker. Every day there are many thousands of people across Britain that are away from work due to bad backs, and often these problems are due to poor office chairs. Many staff remain seated for hours at a time in inadequate office chairs and this leads to poor posture, and eventually back pain. The first way to alleviate this problem is to ensure that staff are aware that they should get up and move around every hour. It is possible to promote this via office space planning by having office storage that is not right next to each member of staff. If you are having to get up and go to a central storage area to collect and replace files, then without realising it, you are exercising your back, and preventing strain. Centralised storage is also sensible to allow you to get the best out of your space planning as it allows you to group staff together, and storage together giving a much more efficient layout.

There are many hundreds of different types of office chair, so how do you know which one is the best for your staff? Basically there is no one chair that will be perfect for everyone has different requirements and body shapes, but as a general rule the more adjustable the chair is, the more likely you are to find a setting that suits the user. As a minimum the office chair needs to be height adjustable, and intensive users would ideally have some level of seat pan tilt and lumbar support. It is actually the responsibility of employers to ensure that all users of PCs have adequate office furniture for their job role (a DSE assessment- Display Screen Equipment), and we are able to send our staff to carry out these risk assessments at your office, and to make recommendations as to the most suitable furniture and office chairs for your staff. Call us to discuss how we can help.

The size and shape of the office desk plays a major part in the final office design. Obviously, the larger the desk, the fewer you can fit in, but also the shape can play a big role is the layout too. The most common office desk type in the UK is still the “L-shaped” desk, also known as a corner (or sometimes crescent) desk. This desk type has a deep corner section, which is designed to house a large CRT monitor. However, the majority of monitors are now flat screens, and so this space is in effect redundant. The large return of the L-shaped desk means that you need to space them further apart in order to allow for adequate access between desks. This is especially important due to the DDA regulations (Disability Discrimination Act), which state that the office should be planned in such a way that it is useable by wheelchair users and the less able bodied. It therefore makes sense when planning an office layout to consider the type of office desk and go for something that allows for adequate surface space, but doesn’t require a huge amount of space between desks. A solution here would be a wave type desk, which has a slightly deeper end at one side, which is usually 200mm deeper than the rest of the desk top (compared with 800mm deeper for most L-shaped desks). In fact due to the ever shrinking size of desktop PCs, many companies are even going for rectangular (straight) desks, or even flexible bench type desking. These can further help to improve your office design by being very space efficient, whilst still useable. There are many other types of office desks available too, such as the double wave, the 120 degree desk, and the call centre pod, so if you would like advice as to what would work best in your office, just give us a call, or drop us an email (see contact page for details).

The best way to ensure that the actual move goes smoothly is to begin with an “as existing” space plan that shows your current office design and layout, and has each item of furniture identified with a code number. This plan can then be printed out at large scale, or emailed to all your staff, allowing them to add the identifying code to each item of furniture (we can recommend companies that can do this also using low-tack adhesive labels that are attached to every item of furniture). Then at the new site, a large printed plan shows the same furniture with identifier codes showing the porters exactly where each item of furniture should be moved to. This simple system ensures that you don’t end up with bits of furniture in the wrong places, and therefore ensures that your new office design will be put in place accurately and in accordance with the proposed plans. If you would like more advice about office moves, give us a call on 0845 166 8381.

When preparing for an office move there are many factors that often get overlooked. The first, and probably most important one is the office design. Often there is an assumption that just because the new office is larger, the will be no problem in fitting in the furniture, but there are many factors that can complicate the layout of office furniture, and often make spaces less useable than they should be. Important things to look out for include- is there a raised floor (as this allows more flexibility in the office layout design); are there pillars / power poles; is the floorplate an unusual shape; is the new office layout open plan, or made up of cellular offices? By starting with a furniture survey we can make sure that your furniture will fit in to your new office, but also we can ensure that it is laid out in the most efficient way. Our space planning service can also include 3d visuals and interior design, and we can even help to future proof your office, planning the layout to allow for potential expansion at a later date. This way our office design service can save you money in the future, and ensure that your staff are happy now. Give us a call to discuss how we can help- 0845 166 8381.

We are often asked what materials are best to use in a modern office for flooring. This is an area where you can introduce a bold colour or design, and even use different colours to indicate different zones, or fire routes. Traditional carpets on a roll are not really ideal, as they can be tricky to repair (wear and tear and coffee damage happens far quicker in an office environment than it would in a domestic one due to the increased traffic). However carpet tiles are a good solution as they allow the user to replace single tiles at a time. If the carpet is made with a thick pile, then it is often hard to see any joins and the finish is similar to that of a roll, but without the drawbacks.  Carpet tiles can also be useful when used with a raised floor as they can allow easy access to the wiring below the floor, and are usually supplied at the same size as the raised floor grid tiles (600×600mm). For areas such as coffee points where a carpet could quickly become stained a vinyl floor-covering works well. You can get a realistic wood effect vinyl that is actually laid in strips (like wooden planks) which allows for access under the floor should it be needed, and has several advantages over traditional wood, or laminate flooring products. One of the key advantages here is that the vinyl is quiet when walked upon; this may not seem a big deal, but many offices that were refurbished in the late 1990s with laminate floors soon found that the constant sound of heels on the wooden floor became a real problem.  Vinyl is also very hardwearing and water resistant and so is a good choice for offices looking for a modern appearance. There are even companies that produce vinyl floor tiles that look like steel flooring for an industrial effect, or you can even get tiles with  holograms set within them for a futuristic feeling.

For advice on office interior design, give us a call and we can discuss how we can bring your space up to date.