SPACE SOLUTIONS

Open Plan Environments

Open plan environments get mixed reviews, and are the source of debate and strong feelings in the design community. Today we’re exploring a few perspectives, which include a story about a new headquarters that utilizes the open plan concept to illustrate their corporate mission statement, and another that says that it’s time to move past the debate and focus on supporting collaboration, team building, and individual work, leaving it up to employees to find the space that best suits their work.

Moving Beyond Open Plan Spaces in Workplace Design

This publication by HOK is a downloadable piece that looks at how the open plan concept has evolved since its popularity in years past. This resource shares newer iterations of the open plan that have been enhanced to be more attuned to the needs of the new workplace. As the workplace continues to grow and change from open plan to immersive spaces, designers and workplace strategists need to consistently evaluate what is working and what isn’t.

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Featured Brands: Indiana Furniture and Kwickscreen

Setting a New Standard

Though open floor environments may be controversial, this story about the new WM headquarters in Houston, TX, shows how the design takes into account the needs of the people that work there. Offering employees flexibility in where they work, the newer space offers a choice of collaborative or individual spaces and over 90% of the latter feature views of the surrounding city.

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Featured Brand: Global Furniture Group

How Open Is Too Open for Your Office?

This Gensler piece shares insights about how workplace design can better reflect the needs of the worker. The insights were gleaned from their 2019 survey of workers that asked questions like: how open should their office be; which amenities were most meaningful to them; and what coworking spaces they wanted as part of their best prospective workplace. The conclusions suggest that instead of a clear and definitive answer, the best solutions are nuanced and subjective depending on the situation.

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Featured Brands: Fluidconcepts, Eurotech Seating, and Magnuson Group

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