In our previous article on the importance of office space planning, we talked about how a strategic approach to your office fit out and design can carry a whole wealth of benefits. These include relocation aversion, improved productivity, better health and wellbeing, and retention of staff just to name a few.
One of the most effective tactics in strategic workspace design is choosing office furniture which is going to help you optimise the space available. With this in mind, here are some quick tips on how you can use your commercial furniture portfolio to save space.
Opt for multifunctional furniture
Installing furniture which serves more than one purpose is a great way to make the most of the space you have available. Multi-purpose products mean you are also able to significantly reduce the time that any work settings are left unused or redundant.
Some popular multifunctional furniture includes:
• STUDIO by Bene double-top SWING Table (pictured above) which doubles up as a discreet storage solution
• Steelcase Share It storage which can also be used as a mount for write-on surfaces
• Frovi Jig Table which can be easily transformed from a power-integrated work surface to a table tennis table in seconds
• Steelcase media:scape (pictured below) which combines technology and furniture for a one-stop, space-efficient solution
Make use of valuable wall space
Another great way to maximise your approach to space planning is to make use of the walls as well as the floor. Something like the Four Design Four Us Wall features a leg-less, wall mounted table which is the ideal solution for impromptu meetings, touchdown work and private focus with minimal space requirement.
The Four Us Wall (pictured below) can be used with or without seating – depending on the height it is mounted at – so is perfect for corridors and walkways where space is even more limited.
Incorporate portable space division
When it comes to your office fit out, consider the transition into an open plan workspace (if you haven’t already) so you can reduce the number of static dividing walls and permanent space division.
Giving yourself this flexibility means you can use something like BuzziBlinds or Fabricks Wall (pictured below) to designate and separate space temporarily. You can then reconfigure and adapt the placement of these as and when necessary.
Choose hot desking over assigned workstations
We’ve discussed why the days of the dedicated desk are over before but one of the most prominent reasons is the waste of space that assigned workstations in traditional office environments were causing.
As workers become more agile and mobile, and freedom of movement becomes more commonplace, dedicated desks become a futile approach to workspace design. Instead, reduce the number of individual desks and implement a hot desking station which can be occupied according to task and requirement.
Click for more reading on how we maximised space through strategic furniture design at one of Manchester Metropolitan University’s main campuses.