Introduction

Around the world, the workspace is evolving rapidly. As more and more millennials continue to join the workforce globally, workspaces have begun to adapt to the changes in demographics. The best interior designers in India know that offices now need to reflect and support the diverse aspirations of the new generations. They must be more engaging, more interactive, more flexible and more inspiring.

Flexible Workspaces

Flexible workspaces are very trendy at the moment in certain industries that rely greatly on collaboration. Here, rather than having fixed workstations, employees have laptops that allow them to work anywhere within the office. This could be on tables, in the café, on the sofa, etc. Meeting rooms and other shared infrastructure is provided for convenience. This concept allows team members to pick up their work and move them around easily. They could get a coffee or grab lunch while working or even go over and meet a colleague and collaborate on a project, or get a second opinion. The idea of such a setup is to increase productivity by increasing the mobility of staff members. This system is also based upon the assumption that sitting at the same desk all day long actually decreases productivity on account of monotony and lack of stimulation and inspiration.

Biophilic Design

Biophilia (Bio- nature + Philia – especial love) is a theory that was pioneered by the biologist E.O Wilson. According to him, all human beings have an innate and genetically determined affinity towards the natural world. Biophilic design can be broken down into nature-inspired shapes and forms and also the creating of indoor green spaces or both. This kind of design is believed to have a calming influence and reduces employee stress. As human beings, we have not evolved to spend extended amounts of time in enclosed artificial environments such as offices. The shapes, forms, colors and textures in nature collectively have the effect of reducing stress. The idea of biophilic design is to improve productivity by incorporating the shapes, forms and textures of nature into the working environment. This is something that the best interior designers in Mumbai are increasingly incorporating into their designs. True biophilic designs are not rectilinear shapes. They are bold, flowing and curvaceous and embrace the imaginative spirit as embodied in nature itself. The biophilic design also incorporates nature. But it does so in a more holistic and intrinsic way. The placing of some potted plants around an office does not constitute biophilic design. Nature must be an intrinsic part of the interior and must co-exist permanently with all other elements of the space.

Technology

Cloud computing simplifies and streamlines work since any staff member with authorization can access any files from the cloud storage so long as he or she has a computer and an internet connection. This improves the overall efficiency of the organization as employees have ready access to data whenever they need it.  Automation – Automation is becoming increasingly common and more reliable which is why interior designers are more comfortable recommending these systems to their clients. As automating systems get cheaper, more companies invest in them, which in turn increases investment in the sector, which results in more innovation and reduced prices. The most common item in an office to be automated is lights and air-conditioning. These are also two of the more energy-intensive systems in the office ecosystem. They are automated fairly easily using an array of modern sensors and modules. Lighting automation can also be useful by minimizing the use of energy during available hours of daylight and gradually increasing lighting as available daylight decreases. The automation of blinds can also significantly decrease energy consumption by either allowing heat sources to enter or blocking heat sources from entering the building.

Internet of things – This is also a growing aspect of office interiors. When integrated well can result in enhanced productivity, comfort, efficiency and energy savings. It can also be a lot of fun and can be an interesting talking point in and outside of the office. There are a lot of new and helpful IOT devices for all parts of the office from the conference room to the café. The best interior designers will help you decide on the tech that would suit the unique needs of your team to determine which ones you should invest in to maximize your productivity.