CREJ - Building Dialogue - December 2017
When developing, designing or building a workplace, we all look for elements that set our building or design apart. No one wants cookie-cutter design elements in their work space – they want elements offered in a different and fresh way. One popular trend that sets office design apart is incorporating custom home elements to not only make your office feel more like home, but also to elevate the design standard for the workplace. Research supports the notion that a more relaxed, collaborative work space fosters both creativity and productivity. Allowing employees to feel “at home” can make going to work each day a little better. Certain elements of custom residential interior design can help to transform offices into “home-away-from-home” environments for their employees. Like in custom homes, craftsmanship and attention to detail can set elevate a space beyond a traditional office. Our firm designed Deer Park Road Corp.’s building in Steamboat Springs. It employs many strategies to create a cohesive, exciting interior space for its employees. Try a combination of the following strategies to help soften your workspace. A mix of warm materials. Natural materials like reclaimed wood, stone and soft wall coverings are appearing more and more in offices. Traditional office spaces evoke images of institutional, sterile design, stodgy grey cubicles and the dreaded “corporate culture.” Using richer, tactile and more personalized materials engages client interest and creates a visually stimulating environment that promotes creativity. The work spaces of the Deer Park Road Corp. utilize natural wood flooring, reclaimed oak feature walls, concrete counters and stained birch cabinetry to enliven a space used by employees throughout the day. Amenities galore. Many workplaces are beginning to realize they need to stand out in order to recruit and retain a talented workforce. Offering amenities like a full kitchen, exercise area or a lounge space for employees can set your workplace apart and create the company culture many great employees are looking for. Located a snowball’s throw from Wildhorse gondola and the slopes of the ski area, the Deer Park Road Corp. building includes a full kitchen, exercise room, lounge area and the cherry on top – a ski locker with a custom tuning bench, private lockers, racks full of skis and snowboards, a sink, snack and sunscreen station and a fleet of e-bikes for riding around town and the mountain. Furnishings. Long gone are the days of sterile contract furniture. Office furnishings now are colorful, fun and unique. Mixing colors, patterns and styles typically reserved for a home allows the freedom to personalize the design to your company culture and image. Elements like rugs, pillows and decorative lighting, are easy places to spice up a space without going overboard. Comfortable couches and lounge furniture often found in your living room are now being employed in the workplace to provide workers with comfortable areas for private work, informal meetings and breakout sessions. Custom pieces can also create a cohesive and warm palette that ties into the overall design rather than feeling stark. The work studios in the Deer Park Road Building feature custom desks, unique pendant lights and bright orange filing cabinets. Artwork. Art has always been somewhat incorporated into office spaces, but today, the art is becoming more place-specific and customized. High-end, unique art pieces give an added sense of warmth and tie the building to its place. Workers feel connected when the visuals around them relate to their everyday lives outside of the office. Stimulating and beautiful artwork adds the attention to detail that pulls a space together, just like in a home. The lobby of Deer Park features two custom pieces that showcase local artists. The stained glass mosaic features different scenes from Colorado. And the bronze relief depicts a skier and a cascading mountainside. Outdoor and open spaces. Indoor/outdoor living is a term that is blowing up in the residential world. Creating large, expansive outdoor spaces that tie into offices and lounge areas is a new trend no longer reserved for home. Employees crave interaction with the outdoor environment. Studies have shown that natural light and fresh air help to stimulate employees and create a healthier indoor environment to work in. Large, expansive outdoor decks lend to a workspace that is collaborative and unconfined, with the outdoors flowing naturally into the workspaces. Incorporating elements from the home into the office elevates the design standard for workplaces across both the state and the country. By combining the strategies listed above an office can feel unique and true to a company’s culture while at the same time eliciting the comfortable feeling of home. brandt@vertical-arts.com