Sitting will likely remain a posture found in the work environment for many years to come, so it’s important to know how to keep your back healthy while seated.

This paper created by Haworth looks at the effects of seating for extended periods of time and what we can do to combat them –  Promoting Back Health

Sit Well | Work Well | Feel Well

Factories track assembly line defects to improve product quality. Parcel companies track their supply chains to enable more package deliveries per employee and provide detailed delivery times to customers. Grocery stores use loyalty cards to track buying habits and offer customised coupons to shoppers. Homeowners can now receive detailed energy reports from their suppliers to drive down consumption.

The trend is clear: collect more data, in more places and use it to deliver a more efficient service that in turn improves outcomes.

This same trend now enables office space to be more productive… read the CoWorkr Whitepaper

Fern is unlike anything you’ve seen and unlike anything you’ve felt. Inspired by nature, Fern Chair provides new levels of balance, flexibility, and performance. Designed from the center, it puts people at the center of work. Easy, natural, and unhindered. Fern is in tune with your every move.

Wellington | Save the 28th of September 2017

Auckland | Save the 4th of October 2017

Dunedin | Save the 13th of October 2017

Christchurch | Save the 25th of October 2017

We’ve got your back!

Further details and invites to come out shortly.

“If it’s done properly it works well because you get more collaboration but it does have to be well planned.” Although open-plan was becoming extremely popular, Rawlings said aesthetics were often put ahead of acoustics with plans including lots of wood and glass and high ceilings which then echoed and ended up being distracting and noisy for staff.”

Colins Top Tips
• Plan the office with a space planner and in consultation with staff
• Create breakout spaces from private to semi-private to cater for different uses
• Use desk-dividing screens in between rows of desks to reduce the distance sound can travel
• Avoid big, open ceilings made of concrete, wood or glass and use suspended ceilings to avoid echoing
• Use acoustic tiles where necessary
• Consider sound-masking systems with white noise or pink noise which artificially raises background sound level

Read the full article here.

At Auckland University’s Acoustic Labs we recently tested how well the Quiet-Revolution reduces surrounding ambient noise. In propeller-head speak: Starting with 55dBA externally, sitting inside the Quiet-Revolution reduces noise levels to around 45dBA. This drop of 10dBA represents a halving of perceived noise levels. Or put more simply, that’s the same as turning an average open-plan office in to a typical library!

Isn’t it time you joined the Quiet-Revolution?



 

If this graphic has you nodding your head and letting out a bit of a sigh of frustration then contact us for some dreamy acoustic options.

• Air3 Pods
• Keystone
• Quiet Revolution 2.0
• Away From the Desk

Noise is pitched as the number 1 destroyer of productivity in the workplace. You do not have to suffer and cry the whole day through.

Keystone takes future proofed and flexible furniture another step forward due to its innovative and reconfigurable design.

Wellington February the 23rd – Save the Date!

We’re inviting you to come and taste test Keystone, a multi-purpose, modular furniture system designed to address today’s rapidly-changing workplace. The official invite and details will be coming out to you shortly.

I don’t know if there are readers among us that have dabbled in a spot of Downton Abbey watching, but the end of last year reminded me of a scene from an episode – a Christmas special in fact. It transpired that Robert Grantham wasn’t feeling quite well and stood up to leave his lavishly laid out table of 1920’s splendor and proceeded to shower his guests in blood coming from a burst stomach ulcer. Actual. Horror!

But that’s what November and December felt like. Christmas turned into Christmare. I am grateful for bone broth and a good gut health protocol because I truly believe that’s the reason I rolled into my Christmas break feeling as well as I did.

This year, to save me from tears, I’m going to do something special. We want to know what you’re up to. Do you have any plans to procure furniture? Do you want help with space planning ideas or workplace strategy? Are you thinking about relocating to a new office space?

We’ve got some cool events, product launches and knowledge sharing planned this year and our mission is to sprinkle you with inspired solutions for your life at work.

Those 8ish hours a day you spend doing what it is you love and do best, well we want to make sure you’re doing it in a way that inspires you, that makes you feel well and that ensures the future of your workplace is sorted because you’ve invested in flexible and smart solutions.

We have showrooms in Auckland, Wellington Christchurch and now Dunedin. You can come and visit us in those locations to test product, talk to us about your ideas and plans, sip coffee and see how our furniture functions in a live environment.

Outside of those main centres we’re always available via phone, email and our social media channels. We might even still have a fax machine in our Auckland office! You can also enquire if we’ve got one of our team travelling to your area in the future.

Never mind the buzz words, if you find jargon and industry speak overwhelming rest assured that our knowledge spans a great continuum. We can talk about anything from a 2 drawer filing cabinet to 14,000 square meters of uncharted corporate real estate territory.

Hopefully without causing havoc to our unsubscribe rate, we’ll be keeping you well informed and for the first quarter of this year you’ll experience a small but well intentioned increase in activity from us as we pop out invites to upcoming events.

Because we care we’ll also keep you updated about the rapid approach of Christmas 2K17. You’re welcome!

Here’s to an excellent 2017!

I’ve been experimenting with a method called the Pomodoro Technique, it’s not new and you may have already heard of it, currently practice it or have become CEO of good productive times because of it. But if you haven’t had the pleasure, it goes a little something like this…

Ahem… The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. These intervals are named Pomodoros, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used as a university student. The method is based on the idea that frequent breaks can improve mental agility.

There are six steps in the technique:

1. Decide on the task to be done (from a to do today list)
2. Set the Pomodoro timer (traditionally 25 minutes)
3. Work on the task until the timer rings. If a distraction pops into your head, write it down, but immediately get back on task
4. After the timer rings, put a checkmark on a piece of paper
5. If you have fewer than four checkmarks, take a short break (3–5 minutes), then go to step 1
6. After four Pomodoros, take a longer break (15–30 minutes), reset your checkmark count to zero, then go to step 1

Source: Wikipedia

That “longer break” is usually around 15 – 30 minutes, or however long it takes you to feel reenergised and ready to get back into another 25 minute Pomodoro.

One key aspect of the system is that it’s important that a Pomodoro is an indivisible unit of work. If you’re sidetracked part-way through a 25 minute slot you have to make the decision to either end the Pomodoro there or defer the interruption to complete the Pomodoro.

If it’s achievable to reschedule the disruption, Cirillo suggests using the “inform, negotiate, and call back” strategy:

• Inform – basically tell the person/s that you’re working on something and you’re keen on completing it, it won’t come as a surprise to them especially if you’re having the conversation at work
• Negotiate a time when you can get back to them – if the negotiations exceed 3 – 4 minutes, the moment is lost and you have to start again so you may as well just have the conversation with them right then and there
• Schedule the follow-up and then action it when you’ve completed your Pomodoro

When you break it down, it is behaviour we already use to go about our day, we’re just framing it up within the context of the technique.

It’s not at all confrontational and that’s what the 5 minute break is ideal for, allowing you to follow up those calls, emails and general admin that’s accrued while you’ve been enjoying some of the best workflow ever.

The first rule of Pomodoro is DEFINITELY tell people you’re in a Pomodoro. This infinitely increases the chance of you making it through the Pomodoro. I always tell my colleagues I’m going into a Pomodoro, and they’re like “cool, enjoy”, and I’m like, “thanks, yeah I will” and then I start my timer.

There are few distractions worthy of breaking out of a Pomodoro, and these would be the exceptions

1. Actual Emergency – fire wardens do not care about your love of lycopene fuelled work styles
2. A Courier – unsung heroes of the world of commerce, show them some love
3. Missing coffee beans – this brings commerce to a messy and screaming grinding halt
4. The opportunity to improve a nearby conversation with a witty remark or joke – never leave a funny quip unsaid, it causes constipation

I’ve also added a few of my own hacks to my Pomodoro process.

1. I turn off my emails and use my breaks to catch up on those
2. I look through my eyebrows to increase the appearance of ultimate focus
3. I turn my phone onto its face so I can’t see incoming messages and notifications

It works for me because the 25 minute chunk is really doable, I’m not overwhelmed by 8 hours of potential productivity and I don’t even have to Pomodoro all day, I can do it for some of my day and freestyle the rest of it.

It’s a technique that’s been around for some time and has attracted a good amount of followers and fans. I’m talking about it because I’ve found it really easy to apply to my work day and I am more productive on days I use the technique than on the days I don’t.

Disclaimers, of which I have two:

1. This won’t suit everybody or apply to every industry, the cool thing about being a grown up is you get to decide if you want to give it a hoon or not but I highly recommend trying it for at least 25 minutes
2. My job, whilst very important and meaningful, doesn’t involve curing cancer so being involved in good workflow for 25 minutes at a time isn’t a big deal in terms of the time it takes to get back to people

It started with a high intensity fitness session in the sun by Dojo Resident and Founder of Body Love Blueprint, Courtney and finished with a Yoga class set to live acoustic guitar and vocals by the great humans from Yoga Rhapsody

We now wish every week was Mental Health Awareness Week.

Community Manager, Monique O’Malley has captured the greatness of the week beautifully in  her blog here, grab a cup of something yum and have a read.

It’s really lovely to look at and you can watch it come to life on the video below and read more about it here, Studio Banana

Enjoy this with some Tapas and an aged Tempranillo.

We partnered up with the team at Sharedspace for Semi Permanent in Auckland on the 12^th and 13^th of August.

Semi Permanent is a two day symposium held at the Aotea Centre and is part of a global creative and design thinking platform. It brings together a community of more than 300,000 people and a network of 800+ speakers and artists.

The symposium is a collision of ideas, conversations and creativity and the two day event is filled with visionaries and challengers from international interactive and design studios and more. It’s orbited by thought-provoking satellite events, including panels, discussions, networking and parties.

The result? Connecting New Zealanders with a world of design thinking.

Sharedspace were present at the symposium and we sorted them out with some furniture for their zone.

What we love about the Quiet-Revolution:

– The Quiet-Revolution is a stand-alone privacy or focus capsule, designed with open plan/ABW workspace environments in mind
– It is Kiwi designed and manufactured; the NZ felted wool panel covering provides mid-level acoustic dampening qualities
– Quiet-Revolution provides privacy and a place to focus, enhancing staff well-being and productivity and also provides a cost efficient use of expensive office real-estate
– Quiet-Revolution has been specifically designed to allow the occupant to sit, spin and be completely enclosed. The high seat back closes off the entrance providing 360 of privacy
– Unlike fixed workspace areas, these moveable units do not require individual fire and air-conditioning compliance and can be taken with you should the business relocate – this improves the useable lifetime of the asset
– 100% recyclable

What’s new about the Quiet-Revolution?

– The Quiet-Revolution 2.1 is the latest addition to the Quiet-Revolution family and includes an ergonomic fold down table, power and data. Additional technology such as monitors, wireless phone charging etc. can also be catered for if specified
– At 1250mm in diameter it has a slightly larger floor pan than the original Quiet-Revolution but retains the same 1800mm height
– The sections are modular, providing a choice of colour and ease of access for installation purposes

Why you should get a Quiet-Revolution?

• Opportunities for some seriously focussed work resulting in some of the greatest job satisfaction you can potentially experience
• Bang for your buck it’s a great way to carve out spaces on an open plan floorplate that act as do not disturb zones
• If you can sleep sitting upright the Quiet-Revolution is power nap heaven
• Quiet-Revolution’s mid-frequency acoustic dampening qualities all but remove ambient sound for the user, the insulated walls providing a sense of being in the office but out of it also
• A good place to work, make calls and Skype all in one without having to move to different locations for each of these tasks
• No more hiding in stairwells or lurking in foyers to make calls

Read more about it here Quiet-Revolution

Our focus in this discussion is noise in the workplace.

It has been well documented that certain levels of noise in an office can incapacitate a person’s ability to concentrate on a task thus leading to stress response. Increased stress has detrimental effects on our health and it’s we must take action to eliminate or mitigate these stresses.  In addition to longer term health issues there are short term impacts on productivity, job satisfaction, morale and fatigue.

A recent survey by the University of Sydney found that sound privacy was the biggest drain on employee morale, interestingly high partitions made it worse! Noise can be so pervasive that often we don’t realise what it does to us.

Julian Treasure’s TED Talk is worth 9 minutes of your time, he talks about why we need to design spaces with our ears.

Getting to grips with the best solution for minimising noise and disruption in the workplace can be a mission in itself. Design thinking is infusing itself into furniture design and placement so we can better control sound absorption but for the user it’s hard to know what will work without wasting time or budget.

Our partnership work Haworth gives us access to new technology that informs the way we design furniture and utilise space, with a big focus on the management of noise and sound incorporated into our thinking.

In October we will be running a series of seminars in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to share this knowledge. We’ll send invites out with save the date details in the next month.

We’ve looked from the inside out to ensure we’re creating well buildings that house well humans and how furniture design supports a well organisation and underpins a thriving culture.  We’ve explored the value of biophilia, our relationship with nature and how we can bring that into our workspace. Not just plants but good air quality and natural light.

The push for Wellness is a movement that’s here to stay and we feel a great responsibility to make it accessible to everyone. One of the biggest factors we can see that’s influencing our overall wellness is movement, or lack of.

You’re probably familiar with the trope “sitting is the new smoking”. Everything is the new smoking if you do it too long and in positions that are not ergonomic.  Sitting, standing, using devices, staring, emailing, collaborating, sleep deprivation, drinking and even smoking are the new smoking.

It’s not news that physical inactivity can have serious implications on our health, especially in the area of preventable early death. It’s been proven to amplify our risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and some cancers.

In a deskbound work environment, we can spend in excess of 8 hours per day at our desk in a chair, stooped over a workstation and computer. It’s actually possible that a desk workers muscles are inactive for about 70% of the day and exercise alone is not sufficient to combat the duration of time our muscles spend in a state of inactivity.

It’s heart attack serious that we engage in healthier ways of conducting our day to day living.

Movement needs to feature as the headline act on your ‘To Do List’, without it feeling like it’s impeding your ability to be productive.

It’s as simple as forming new habits that get fresh blood flowing to all your vital organs and get you doing more work away from you desk. If you’re stuck for ideas around how to implement some changes to your day, try some of these on for size:

• Take calls standing up, take the stairs instead of a lift, drink more water, have walk and talk meetings. Get next level and bust out some “Interpretive Dance” during Skype calls, or throw down a few sets of “Burpees” during conference calls. Put your phone on mute first.

• Multitasking (at work) isn’t actually as awesome as we thought it might be, it’s probably better just to focus on one task at a time and finish it (where practicable). So close down some tabs and luxuriate in immersing yourself in one mission until it’s complete. This has really positive ramifications on your job satisfaction as well.

• Spending time hunched over technology is creating some unhealthy curves; our workplaces are becoming a sea of humans shaped like Montgomery Burns and Gollum. Take a big deep breath every now and then and look up, stand straight and uncurl yourself.

• Speaking of sleep – get some! If you’re not dreaming you’re missing out. We get into good, deep sleep states when we’re dreaming, and dreams (often the badder the better) can help us problem solve. Sorry Netflix but I aim for a dreamy 8 hours a night. Whatever the question, sleep is the answer.

• When it comes to implementing these changes, think of it as making your life “more good” instead of settling for “less bad”. It about the glass being half full, if you’re going to put the effort into making improvements, aim high, or at least medium, halfway at a push but don’t sink lower than that. You’re worth it.

• Get off your ass! An hour at the gym every day isn’t enough to combat the detrimental effects of time spent inactive during the day, and that includes standing. We need to move it, move it! Sorry for saying ass.

• It is not better to burn out than fade away, it’s better to not burn out in the first instance. Take a break, even someone trying to find the cure for cancer needs to take a break. Get some exercise, do some yoga, go outside, death roar out of your car window on the drive home, write a letter, do a crossword, whatever it is, enjoy!

• Get a sit to stand desk. They’re as cheap as thrice cooked beer battered chips and loads better for you! We can even supply some aioli on the side.

Whatever it is you decide to do, make sure it’s meaningful and you enjoy it, it’s possible that your life kind of depends on it.

A lot of investment is being made into height adjustable and sit to stand furniture so we need to ensure we’re empowering users of that furniture to utilise it in a functional and healthy way. All it takes is an hour a day of standing to chip away at the challenges our bodies face from sitting for long periods.

Here’s 2 minutes and 46 seconds of video with some facts. Stand and watch it and you only got another 57 minutes and 14 seconds of standing to go and you’ve reached your quota for the day. Easy!

This year there is a truly stellar line up at the symposium.

The morning speakers include:

– The Senior Director Cushman & Wakefield, Richard Howard, will share about his involvement on the redevelopment of King’s Cross in Central London

– Principal of Sasaki, Dennis Pieprz, will discuss his recent work on numerous regeneration projects across Asia

– Rod Marler from Panuku Development Auckland will cover developments happening in Wynyard Quarter and other sites

– UK-based workplace consultant, Chris Kane, will share his work guiding global enterprises through challenging transformational journeys.

In the afternoon there will be exciting events and speakers:

– ‘The CoreNet Conversation’ – the morning’s speakers will be interviewed by journalist, radio host and TV personality Hilary Barry

– Sharing cities – New Capacity for Urban Assets – a workshop hosted by Darren Sharp, the Australian editor of Shareable

– ‘Quickfire Insight’ – a fast-paced panel session featuring six speakers who will deliver three insights, hosted by the Director of The Clarity Business, George Hulbert

– Denise L’Estrange-Corbet from the fashion brand WORLD will share how she helped reshape the fashion industry

Come along to the Symposium on 16 June, 2016, held at Shed 10 on Auckland’s Queens Wharf, and see a range of exciting and thought-provoking speakers, panels and workshops. Click here to register for the 2016 Symposium or click here to see the full line-up.

Our partnership with Haworth has broadened our product portfolio and given us access to global services and knowledge, yet it’s important for our domestic market to recognise the work Haworth does within NZ with our design and innovative community.

Haworth has always seen placed great importance in supporting local talent in the regions it operates in and it’s bought about the creation of the Haworth xFriends platform. XFriends is a launch pad that offers the best and brightest talent in thought leadership and design, the opportunity to leverage Haworth’s global capacity to showcase their product on the world stage.

Haworth supports New Zealand designers and fabricators by providing access to wider markets and by combining their products with the Haworth after sales service programmes.

We think that the best ideas will come from everywhere; the xFriends platform will provide a voice and opportunity to share great ideas in the parts of the world that are now leading growth globally.

This is particularly relevant given the tremendous impact of technology that is driving swift change in how and where we work. No single supplier can define product and service solutions that can help clients address the unique challenges that this rapid change creates which is why Haworth is engaging with thought leaders, product designers and members in the communities where they operate to develop and evolve a value proposition that will support our clients.

Our partnership with Haworth Inc allows us to curate these products with ours and provide the opportunity to act as a single source supplier for delivery, after sales and warranty support.

Already joining the xFriends platform are high-profile New Zealand designers Fletcher Systems, Trubridge Design, Essenze and IQ Commercial.

Fletcher Vaughan

Fletcher Systems was established in 1999 by New Zealand designer Fletcher Vaughan. It quickly became recognized and respected both throughout New Zealand and internationally for its creative, highly original furniture, product design and more recently, public sculpture.

Fletcher Systems is a multi disciplined 3D design studio and furniture brand, specialises in the design, and supply of award winning contemporary commercial furniture.

They specialise in the design and supply of contemporary commercial furniture for office fit-outs, retail, airports, theatres and hospitality. The company also utilises its 10 years of production experience to offer a custom design and manufacturing service to commercial and domestic clients, and has recently started to support and produce other New Zealand designers work under the Fletcher Systems brand.

The variety of products Fletcher Systems undertakes sometimes allows it to bring in others from outside the studio – people who are highly regarded in their respective fields. In some cases, these are ongoing relationships built up over more than 10 years. Fletcher Systems considers these people, and their abilities, an invaluable asset to the studio and ultimately the client.

All Fletcher Systems products are proudly 100% New Zealand designed and made.

Essenze

Using the word ‘design’ in isolation is too narrow to describe Essenze. They believe that design is inseparably connected to the processes of art and craft – art as a source of expression, and craft as in the shaping of materials.

All of the artefacts in the Essenze collection result from a mix of all three processes. Essenze seeks to carefully curate the collection and to communicate the stories of the designers and their passion for their work.

They work with some of the most talented and inspirational characters from around the country, with workmanship that is refined, resourceful, sleek and surprising. Their “New Zealandness” arises from our culture and history, the use of local materials and the inspiration derived from the unique landscape – water, light, earth – our landscapes and in particular our forests.

Unaffected, open, young, active and fresh: these are the words that best describe the expression of New Zealand creativity that Essenze constantly searches for. The curated design portfolio showcases a narrative of its heritage, and demonstrates the influences on a young, geographically isolated country. The contrasts within this narrative provide the fuel for creativity, and Essenze harnesses this by working with designers and artisans to manufacture works of sophisticated, edgy designs.

IQ Commercial

Operating at the intersection of research, investment and design, IQ Commercial is organised around the central concept that furniture is an investment.
Focused on the forefront of workplace strategy for cognitive workers, we strive to enhance business performance via the output side of the human productivity equation.

Their belief is that continued focus on cost based mitigation strategies will yield decreasing marginal gains and are a negative influence on organisational culture.

IQ’s 10 core principles are derived from extensive research, inform an innovative portfolio. Designed in collaboration with leading and award winning designers, their work and influence can be seen in the leading workplace environments throughout the Asia Pacific region.

David Trubridge

The award-winning designs of David Trubridge bring a fresh, evocative flavour of wild nature and cultures living in harmony with the land.

“My ideas come from wild places, edges of turbulence and renewal, where seas break on beaches and headlands, where land and air meet on mountain ridges.” -David Trubridge.

Second nature to David Trubridge, his distinctive designs are crafted with a deeply responsible environmental ethic, evolved out of a unique personal story. The design portfolio that David Trubridge showcases consists of a range of various products from naturally finished and upholstered furniture to intricately formed lighting designs.

Like everything in life there are guidelines, some will even say unbendable rules to how you should approach this but we say… rules schmules! If you Google “Deaths caused by a business that didn’t follow furniture purchasing rules”, you’ll come up with a death toll of zero. Encouraged by these incontrovertible statistics I shall carry on with sharing a few handy hints.

Attempting a one size fits all approach is design blasphemy but at its essence the message can still be applicable. 80 – 90% of staff will be able to use the same furniture and utilise its adjustable functionality to personalise it to their requirements. Identifying solutions that can cater to the masses is a good start and then time can be spent tailoring specific needs for those that fall outside of gen pop.

The mobility and flexibility of the furniture you choose can have positive implications on how much you need to purchase. Product that can be reconfigured easily and redeployed for varying functions offers efficiencies in both expenditure and space planning.

Look to eliminate empty desk syndrome, if you have part timers or hot deskers then consider their hours and needs and plan space and furniture accordingly. Meeting room furniture that can serve as collaborative and planning space is a good idea. Then you don’t have expensive set-ups gathering dust in between AGM’s.

Utilise your resources and specialists, make your suppliers work for you; use their knowledge and expertise to your advantage. Look at previous projects and fit outs to get an idea of how products actually behave in a new environment.

Ask about continuity and guarantee of future supply, do they have non-obsolescence or refurbishment programs? This ticks a few boxes; it’s sustainable and ensures the effort you spend on choosing an interior scheme now is managed effectively and prospective needs will be met.

Trial pieces of furniture throughout the decision making process and get the people that will be using them to spend time on, or at, the products. They can provide valuable feedback and will feel engaged in the development of the set-up.

When choosing furniture think about future proofing and adaptability for changing business needs. Consider systems that are easy to add components to in the future, as this supports the business going forward.

Most importantly, enjoy the process. You don’t want the finished product to be a physical manifestation of a time you didn’t love.

There’s no question that our places of work need to be more adaptable, one thing we know is that we don’t know how we’ll be working and what our organisations will look like in five years. What will our individual and collective needs will be in these spaces and what platforms will connect us to our workplaces.

So Why Build Walls?

Our friends at Orangebox in the UK have put together some serious thoughts on this topic, you can read it here Why Build Walls

People are the synapses, if you will, between the neurons that are the space, technology and process. Observing how people perform and interact within a space is invaluable at the inception of space planning.

It will be the defining factor that ensures no space is wasted and that the spaces you do create are suitable for the work group they are intended for. Designing a truly organic workspace can define the landscape of the organisation and encourages the creation of new ideas and innovation.

Your space immediately characterises your culture, it tells us who you are and what you are about.

When we think about space we break it down into 4 areas, this helps us enable good dialogue in the early planning stages. It also forms the philosophy behind the Haworth by Europlan Organic Workspace.

Collaborative Spaces

These spaces are where people do things together. They’re used for sharing, informal and team based work. They’re often noisy and utilise visual technologies. They’re open and friendly and support a good spectrum of activities. The key drivers are communication and development.

Creative Spaces

These spaces are where people do things first; it’s where the innovators hang out. It’s an area for problem solving, brainstorming, designed to encourage people to relax and stay in the space. They require surfaces to support people recording ideas and the flexibility to allow free movement within the space. It’s a dynamic and agile place where risk taking is essential.

Managed or Controlled Spaces

These spaces are where people do things right, they require acoustic and visual privacy, they are formal and efficient. They are areas where structure and standardization are important, where scheduling, timeliness and uniformity are key drivers.

Competitive Spaces

These are spaces where people do things fast, they are technologically enabled and flexible. There are large, common surfaces for presenting ideas and connecting informally. They are areas where people get things done and key drivers are achievement and profitability.

We love talking about this, come and hang out in our space and talk about it with us.