Your guide to improving your office spaceA compilation of our most popular online articles

Introduction

Office design is more than just making a space pretty, it's a functional element that helps improve communication and productivity, retain staff, and build your brand.

Using our years of experience in the interior design field, we’ve written several insightful blogs on office design and now we’ve put together, in one useful guide, our most popular posts.

This guide will give you tips and expert advice to ensure you're getting the best possible office design for your unique needs.

Tel: +2786 111 8463www.time-space.co.zaEmail: info@time-space.co.zaAddress: 7 Warbleton Avenue Essexwold, BedfordviewJohannesburg, South Africa 2007

Contents

1. Improve Your Office Communication With These 4 Space Planning Tips

2. 4 reasons to choose a modular workspace design

3. 4 reasons why you need to add more plants to your office space

4. The 8 pillars of great design5. 7 office interior design tips from South African

experts

1

Improve Your Office Communication With These 4 Space Planning TipsOffice communication is vital to ensuring you have a happy workspace. Here are 4 tips on how you can improve your office communication with good space planning.

Have you ever wondered what makes a great team “great”? What makes a group of people succeed at a task or a mission? Strong communication! It lies at the heart of every good team. Think about it – if you don’t successfully communicate with your employees and ensure they know what’s expected of them, it can lead to errors, unhappiness, and a decline in productivity. Ultimately, when the team understands their mission, and owns their part in it, success is inevitable.

Good communication creates a well-informed, well-structured, and happy team and great space planning can help improve communication. Here are four simple space planning tips to encourage natural communication in your office space:

1. Create visibilityCommunication is not easy in the workplace to begin with, you have conflicting personalities (like introverts and extroverts) and different communications styles, so adding a physical barrier only makes communication harder. Help encourage communication, sharing, and camaraderie by limiting divisions between areas as much as possible and replacing drywall with glass wall. Use low height furniture to group fixed work teams, so that they are still accessible and part of the larger organisation.

2. Create AccessibilityAnother way to help improve communication between teams is to make sure that each member has easy access to the people they work with regularly. So make sure everyone is available by putting them in close proximity to one another and ensuring they are sitting by people they get on well with. We recommend utilising an open plan workspace, it’s still the best way to create good communication organically.

Think it might be time for an office redesign? Take a look at our checklist to find out.

3. Encourage interactionSilos are the enemy of communication in every office, in fact Forbes notes that “departmental silos are seen as a growing pain for most organisations of all sizes”. That’s why we always advise our clients to create collaboration work spaces where teams are encouraged to work together and share ideas. A well designed collaboration space will promote communication and give teams a space where they have to remove the silo mentality. Breakaway spaces also create a sociable environment where relaxed employees are open to learning and sharing.

4. ShareYour company culture has a big impact on the way your employees communicate. Strategically placed artwork displaying company goals, values, projects, and ideas will allow employees to feel included and a part of the bigger picture. This will create a sense of belonging while communicating company info.

At the end of the day, you want to always encourage good communication and keep your employees comfortable. Giving them an environment that encourages open and comfortable communication is a big step in helping your office open up and feel comfortable talking.

2 5 reasons to choose a modular workspace design

Looking to create a more flexible workspace? Employing a modular design could be what you need.

The nature of how the workspace is used has changed. Silos are no longer viewed as productive, and collaboration and flexibility are instead the driving forces for many businesses today. This doesn’t just apply to working strategies, but also to the spaces provided in the corporate environment.

In fact, design expert Joan Blumenfeld says, “Workspaces should flex to provide a variety of spaces and destinations for workers to inhabit that promote movement throughout the day.”

So, how can you be collaborative and flexible with the space you have? We recommend looking at creating a modular design.

In a nutshell, a modular design allows you to use the same space for different functions, like a meeting space that can also be a collaboration space or breakaway space as well as team huddle space. It also incorporates furniture that can be broken up and put together in different ways, almost like playing with Lego, where you take a set of desks apart and put them together to fill a different purpose.

With modular furniture, your employees can move their desks around to allow for more collaborative spaces. They can all join in a circle to have a meeting, or sit separately to do something more focused.

What is a modular design?

1. You’ll save moneyModular furniture is designed to be moved easily within the space; this in essence is translates to cost savings. The ease of moving means that you’re not wasting time and energy. It also means that the initial installation is quicker and there’s no need for heavy machinery to bolt down items, which also means you don’t need to spend extra budget on on-site labour requirements.

2. You’ll have more flexibility in the futureWant to make a change to the floor design of your office space? Or maybe you have changed the dynamic of your teams and want to move people around? With a modular design, this can be done easily and quickly. This kind of furniture can be easily reconfigurable to accommodate your evolving needs, giving you the freedom and flexibility to design your workspaces around changing needs.

What are the benefits of choosing a modular design?

3. Your company culture will shineCompany culture extends to more than just the way your employees behave. It’s about how they work as well. If you have a progressive company culture that moves with the times and uses a flexible approach to working in collaboration, a modular design is what you need. Why? Because it’s difficult to retain a progressive company culture when you have a set look and feel in the office.

4. Your workspaces become dynamic and collaborativeSome people think that just because you have an open plan layout your space is collaborative – but that’s not the case. A truly collaborative space requires more than just people in the same room. It’s about creating a space where people’s mind frame shift to being collaborative. Modular furniture allows you to move furniture to put people into a collaborative setting without having to build a specific “room” in the office. This gives you dynamic workspaces that can be both collaborative and private.

At the end of the day, a modular workspace won’t be right for every business, but if you’re looking to create a dynamic space, it’s the design we recommend.

3 4 reasons why you need to add more plants to your office space

Let’s face it, plants aren’t just a nice to have – they’re a necessity. Not convinced? Here’s a list of reasons why you should invest in more office plants. And some advice on which plants to choose.

Thinking of popping a fake orchid on your desk for some colour? Think again. While fake plants might seem like a low-maintenance alternative to the real thing, you’ll miss out on all the added benefits that plants bring to your workspace.

1. Plants add natural beauty to a spaceSouth Africans love plants. It’s one of our unique characteristics as a nation – we just adore being close to nature (even if it means fighting over the only window seat in the office). While fake plants have come a long way (some of them could even fool you from a distance), they’re still fake.

Somehow you can actually feel the life that real nature brings into a room.

If you don’t want to waste precious floor space with potted plants, you can get creative with hanging plants or a vertical garden (also known as a green or living wall). You can even turn your plants into living artwork.

Plants can create a dramatic display in a room, livening up a dull space and providing lots of additional benefits (as you’ll see).

2. Plants improve your health and mental wellbeingBusinesses lose a frightening amount of their annual revenue each year to absenteeism. In fact, according to Initial Hygiene Services, your office is currently losing 100’s of days of productivity:

“Absenteeism costs the South African economy around R12 – R16 billion per year. This equates to around 15% of employees being absent on any given day. When one looks at it this way, one can understand why absenteeism is possibly the single most expensive problem affecting business both locally and internationally. Some researchers estimate that South African businesses are losing as much as 17% of their payroll every year due to absenteeism. In the current economic climate, what business can afford that?”

But what can you do about it? This is where plants step in.

Humans and plants have a naturally symbiotic relationship. We inhale Oxygen (O2) and exhale Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Plants absorb the CO2 during photosynthesis (converting light into energy to help them grow) – turning it back into Oxygen again. In essence, we rely on plants to survive and, in turn, they rely on us. We truly are one with nature.

Including plants in your office design will cleanse the air of harmful toxins, reduce dust, bacteria and mold (which cause breathing problems and asthma) and, improve the mood and mental health of your employees. These same benefits apply at home – so you may want to add some greenery there too.

The University of Norway conducted a study on the health benefits of indoor plants. Their findings were astounding. In offices where plants were present, staff experienced a significant improvement in common, office related ailments. These included:

• 32% reduction in fatigue• 45% reduction in headaches• 22% reduction in dry or sore throats• 38% reduction in coughs• 11% reduction in dry facial skin

The improvement in air quality will also help improve everyone’s attention span and level of relaxation. Your staff will be happier, more motivated, more creative, and more productive. All of these factors combined will save you money in the long term, making the effort of maintaining real, live plants worthwhile.

3. Adding plants to your office is socially and environmentally responsiblePlants are extremely talented when it comes to regulating room temperatures. They increase the level of humidity in the air (great for your skin) and also lower the overall room temperature by as much as 10°C. This helps you save energy in the sweltering Summers, because you won’t be as quick to switch on that air conditioner.

How do they do this? After photosynthesising, plants excrete water from their stomata (their plant “pores”) in a process called evapotranspiration. Just like sweating cools the human body, evapotranspiration keeps the plant cool. Unlike human sweat, however, evapotranspiration has the added benefit of cooling down the air around the plant. This helps keep the people (or animals) nearby cool too. Adding plants to your office counts towards your business’ Green Star Rating. The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) is an independent, non-profit organisation which facilitates green building in the South African property market. Their Green Star Rating System is used to benchmark environmentally friendly best practices in architecture, construction and interior design. The higher your Green Star Rating, the more socially and environmentally responsible your business practices are.

4. Plants can create privacy and reduce noise pollution Sick and tired of the construction noises coming from the road outside? Plants can help with that too.

Plants are the most visually-appealing method to reduce noise in a room. They’re able to do this in two ways: through sound absorption and deflection. Plants with thick stems, rough bark or large, fleshy leaves can help to absorb sound. The more plants you have in a room, the better their ability to absorb sound will become. So, for example, if you had a green wall filled with Philodendrons in your meeting room, you’d find those pesky construction distractions far less of a pain.

As you can see, there are a multitude of reasons that you’d want to add more plants to your office space. Not only are they essential to the aesthetics of your building, they also play a huge role in employee health and morale. The cost savings on absenteeism and energy alone make it well worth the time and effort that goes into maintaining the plants around your workplace. So, what are you waiting for? Get down to your local nursery and pick out some green desk buddies!

Insider tip: Some of the best, low-maintenance plants for your office include:

English IvyThis romantic-looking creeper is actually a relatively hardy species, and does extremely well indoors. It’s easy to propagate (just stick a cutting in a jar of water and wait for roots to sprout) and very low maintenance – making it a great choice for novice plant owners. English Ivy is great for people with asthma or allergies.

Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (also known as Snake Plants)Mother-in-Laws Tongue is a striking (extremely popular) plant. Often described as a “super plant”, this species produces oxygen 24/7 (unlike most plants, which only produce O2 during the daylight). This means that you’re getting double the health benefits, as Mother-in-laws Tongue works overtime to purify the air in your office.

Philodendrons (also known as Delicious Monsters)If you’re trying to cancel out noise, you can’t beat a Delicious Monster. With their enormous, fleshy leaves, they’re perfect for absorbing noise in a bustling workspace.

PothosPothos is a low-maintenance creeper (much like English Ivy). It can survive in low-light conditions, so if you don’t sit near a window, you can still enjoy a potted Pothos on your desk. Apart from cleaning the air, Pothos has two surprising added benefits: it combats eye strain (very helpful if you spend hours staring at your screen) and masks bad smells. For this reason, you’ll often find Pothos in bathrooms.

4 The 8 pillars of great designDesigning any office space is about more than just making it look pretty – you have to know how to use the space for both form and function as well.

There’s so much more to interior design than simply arranging furniture in a room.

When people hear the word “design” they generally think of something pretty to look at. However, excellent design is actually the right balance of aesthetics and functionality. The interior of an office can uplift or sink the physical and emotional well-being of you and your staff, so it’s important to design spaces to incorporate both form and function – making the space comfortable, practical, and visually appealing.

Here at time&space design consultants, our expert designers have a combined 75 years of experience in the commercial interior design industry and we’ve learnt a lot over the years. We’ve each got our methods for creating the perfect office space, but there are eight key pillars of design that have been a guiding force for us over the years.

Here are the eight pillars of design we use to make every project great:

1. SpaceAs office interior designers we use the term “space” a lot, but what does the word “space” really refer to in our world? Simply put the “space” is both the physical space or the environment in question (i.e. the room, office, atrium, store, building interior, etc.) and the ‘space between things’ or, in other words, the relationship between elements and the environment.

Space is the first pillar of design because it is, in essence, the most important element to consider when designing an office. The space you have will ultimately affect the design. Knowing what kind of space you have allows us to determine if we need to make changes to the space or find you a new one to work with your needs That’s why space planning is one of the most important functions when it comes to office interior design.

2. FormImagine you designed a coffee mug with decorative holes around the base of the mug. Even if it was the most beautiful mug in the world, no one would ever use it because the liquid would leak out. Why? Because the design failed to take into account the purpose of the object.

Louis Sullivan once said, “form follows function”. This quote states that the shape of an object or an environment should be modelled on its intended use. In design this is a key principle; the function should dictate the design – otherwise the design is useless. Before you start an interior, you need to understand how that space needs to function.

3. LineAll shape and form within a space leads the eye into a line. The line you choose when creating a design will affect the flow of your office, so it’s important to look at the space you’re working with to determine what sort of flow you hope to create. Line is a very valuable pillar as it uses elements to change the feel of a room and draw the eye to your desired point.

Different lines within a space can create a different atmosphere or feeling in a room and even take people through a journey when moving in the space. For example, creating a design that uses a horizontal line will give the space a feeling of stability, grounding, emphasis, and direction. It’s a strong flow that can be used to direct the eye to a particular focal point of the room – like the reception area desk. While a vertical line will give the space a feeling of strength, stability, balance, and elevation. Vertical lines are great to use in smaller spaces to help give the room a feel of height in a space.

Generally speaking it’s believed that vertical lines are more unnatural compared to horizontal lines. When we design an interior, we use line to underpin the style of the space. For example, a curved line will create an organic feeling, whereas geometric or angular line creates a harder, structured and more striking effect.

4. LightLight is actually a play between brightness and shadow. The role of light in an interior space is both functional and decorative – however, functionality should always take priority.

Interesting and exciting lighting can transform a bland interior space into a work of art. However, it’s important to remember that bad lighting not only destroys a good design but renders the space unusable.

Strategically placed lighting can save you thousands every month, and the right kind of lighting breeds a healthier, more productive space. The main consideration when planning an interior, is using natural light cleverly – for example, you wouldn’t use well lit room, filled with windows, as a storeroom. Instead, you’d place your staff as close to the natural lighting as possible.

Design elements like colours, glass and mirrors can be used to enhance both natural and artificial lighting.

There a three main types of artificial lighting to consider:

● Task lighting: the lighting that allows you to perform a task efficiently.● Decorative lighting: the lighting that highlights a piece of art or wall feature. Decorative

lighting can even create a piece of artwork by itself.● Ambient lighting: soft lighting that lights the room, but simultaneously helps to create an

atmosphere – for example, in a restaurant or hotel lobby.

5. ColourThe use of colour in an interior space is a powerful tool, and can lead to success or failure.

Research shows that the colours used in a space elicit emotional reactions for people. For instance, yellow can stimulate mental processes while red can increase enthusiasm. The relationship between colours also has an effect – contrasting colours can create excitement while subtle shades of colour can be calming. That’s why the psychology of colour should always be considered in an interior space and is a key pillar.

There are generally two factors that affect the colours we advise clients to use:

1. The function of the space – how will the space be used and how will colours affect the productivity of the people in the room?

2. The brand identity – a company’s brand identity is part of the brand’s personality and has an impact on the way people perceive the brand. We ensure to build this into our designs wherever possible to keep continuity across all brand touchpoints.

6. TextureTexture adds interest to an interior. If you were designing a motor showroom, for example, you’d most likely opt for textures that help create a modern, angular and clean feel to the space. This could include things like glass and shiny, chrome finishes to mimic the sleek bodies of the cars. If you decided to go with shaggy woolen rugs, and a 70’s style, corduroy couch in the reception area, it would feel inappropriate – this isn’t the look a customer would expect.

Texture plays three important roles in design:

1. A visual role – affecting the look of the space.Like most design elements, texture is also dictated by the function of the space in question.

2. A tactile role – affecting the feel of the spaceAn interior needs an appropriate combination of textures to make the space both functional and comfortable.

3. An acoustic role – affecting the way sound travels in the spaceSofter surfaces absorb more sound and are an important considerations in areas where you’d want lower acoustic levels.

7. PatternPattern can refer to the repetition of elements but, in a broader sense, it also refers to the way that you lay furniture out in a space.

Think about African patterns, Indian patterns, and Greek patterns… each tells a story about their origins, and we identify immediately with the feeling of each of them. But pattern can also be used more generally. Geometric patterns can be used to create interesting detail without representing any specific culture or location, it just brings a welcome energy into the room.

Design elements like lighting, texture, furniture and artwork are placed in specific patterns to help the flow of an interior – for example, arranging desks in rows vs. grouping them in pods.

8. Balance/ Symmetry/ RepetitionThese three elements are more subtle than the rest but no less important. The placement of objects, finishes and accessories, and the visual weight that they carry can greatly influence the aesthetic experience of a space. So, if you understand how to use these elements effectively, you can create interest and excitement in any space.

So, how do they work?

Balance: This is when the visual weight of objects in the same space is equal, effectively creating a sense of balance making the space more inviting.

Symmetry: This is when you create a visual look where all elements are the same on opposite sides or around an axis, adding some interest to the space.

Repetition: This is when you use the same or similar objects several times and with similar intervals, which helps create a sense of order, and sometimes excitement, in the space.

All good designers should utilise these elements. Whether you’re a graphic designer, a fashion designer or an interior designer, these same principles come into play. The eight pillars of great design help drive the creative process.

In interior design, a clever combination of all these elements will create the right effect and bring a space to life.

5 7 office interior design tips from South African expertsOur team of experts got together and created a list of tips on designing your office space both effectively and functionally.

Your office design is vital to the success of your company. No matter the size of your company, a poorly designed space can affect productivity and employee wellbeing. As a team, we’ve been creating unique, functional offices spaces in South Africa for 75 years and have learnt some tricks and tips along the way.

“When you’re required to redesign your existing office space or are moving to a new space, it’s often the items you don’t think of that will have the greatest impact on the overall outcome of the space.” – Stefan Ruperto, time&space COO

Whether you’re moving to a completely new office or you want to make a change to your current space, we’ve got some expert tips to help you design the best space possible for your business.

Looking for a new office space? Don’t get stuck with the wrong space. Discover Space Pairing™

1. Make the most of being in South AfricaNature is naturally a part of our country to such an extent that, unlike big cities like New York, even the most office heavy areas are surrounded by nature. South Africa has a lot of fantastic natural light year round, so design your space to take advantage of that. If you look at the eight pillars of design, the right light is an essential element when designing any space – both from an employee health and cost perspective. Try situating your employees near windows and bring some greenery into the office. This will help people feel more comfortable in the space and increase productivity, especially as South Africans are so used to being in nature.

2. Think about the most affected workflowWhen you start a business and the majority of your clients are in Pretoria, you wouldn’t choose an office space in the centre of Joburg CBD. The same applies to where people sit in an office. Design the space so departments and people who will be working closely together sit near one another. This will limit walking distances between teams who need to collaborate and communicate, and will help encourage this behaviour.

3. Plan for breakaway areas, and put them away from work areasPosition breakaway areas (lounges, coffee stations, canteens) in a space that allows people to remove themselves from their work area. This will encourage staff to take a break and get some exercise, which will promote wellbeing and renewed energy to work. This also encourages communication with teams outside of their usual circles… encouraging better overall company team building.

4. Design your spaces so you only ever need to move people… not furnitureMoving furniture is a costly and time-consuming exercise, so rather create a layout that allows you to simply move people or teams as required, instead of moving furniture. This will prevent downtime when a churn (relocation of work teams) must occur and prevents furniture from being damaged.

5. Reduce your need for space where ever you canOffice space is becoming more and more expensive, and even though we still have an advantage over other countries because we do have more space in general, office spaces are being more scarce. So we recommend you utilise these tips to ensure you’re using your space effectively:

● Create hot desks where you can.● Look at adapting a remote work culture.● Move to the cloud and limit your need for storage space.

Remember, the more space you have, the more you use. Archive all filing and keep only the necessary daily documentation at hand. If you do this, you’ll need less storage furniture which means you’ll need less office space.

6. Don’t put employees in an uncomfortable positionStudies show that the average employee spends a third of their lives at work, so it’s important that they feel comfortable at work. It may seem like something small but where you position workstations can have a huge impact on comfort. Our advice is that you don’t position workstations in a way where the employee’s back is to passageways – nobody likes to sit with their back exposed to an thoroughfare. This takes away all sense of privacy and if they’re in an open plan with their back to a manager’s office they’ll feel even more uncomfortable.

7. Make sure you know what you need before you make a move or changeHave a professional Space Pairing™ report and Needs Analysis drawn up outlining your companies office space needs before choosing a new space, investing in new office furniture or before making any radical interior space changes.

Summary9Creating the right space and environment for your organisationrequires planning and vision. Extensive research is required to gaininsight into your companies' culture and your workforce’s behaviour.There are specific methods and processes in planning that shouldbe followed in order to arrive atyour ideal outcome.

A well designed workspace promotes a happy, healthy, productive workforce.

This has a direct impact on staff retention, profitability and the ultimate successof your business.

In addition; creative design applied to your workplace ensures the visual extension of your brand,a key tool to motivate staff and inspire a sense of belonging and ownership. And, the equally important, advantage of impressing your clients.

Jill Munger CEO 082 781 6598jill@time-space.co.za

Stefan Ruperto COO 083 326 9505stefan@time-space.co.za

Derek Stedman CFO 083 325 9199derek@time-space.co.za

www.time-space.co.za086 111 8463