Tips/Tricks

Putting the “Welcome” in “Welcome Back”

As we continue to work our way back from the pandemic and transition to being back in the office, companies find themselves in an interesting situation. Commercial spaces are diminishing in size, due in part to the work-from-home (WFH) factor, but at the same time organizations want to welcome back their employees to be in the office as much as possible. Exactly how that will look remains to be seen, and will vary for each company, but here are some ideas:

There’s no doubt that we work better together when we’re face to face. Communication, collaboration and team-building all are hampered when we put Zoom or MS Teams between us. But WFH is not going away. Employees have realized that they can get much of their work done without enduring a commute to the office every single day, and higher fuel prices have them digging in their heels even more. Others have simply gotten used to being in their WFH bubbles and are reluctant to change.

So how does an organization put its best foot forward to create a welcoming environment that encourages employees to be there in person? It starts with communication. Some have been working remotely for so long that they may have forgotten the benefits of being together in the same space. Leadership should make the point that everyone is better – as individuals and as a team – when they’re working together. This messaging needs to be repeated again and again.

In terms of office design, consider refocusing on accommodations that encourage collaboration and even fun: Add or upgrade breakrooms, a café or bistro, or comfortable lounge areas that encourage face-to-face interaction. Those may sound frivolous, but the benefits are very real: Employees in the office will naturally interact more, and those at home or on a hybrid plan will be inclined to spend more time there.

This doesn’t necessarily mean more space; it might involve repurposing existing square footage or even reducing the overall office footprint. A Harvard Business Review article notes that Salesforce reduced its desk area by 40% in favor of spaces that can foster both individual and collaborative work.

These new or modified spaces need to be featured in company communications as well. Just as leadership should repeatedly share the benefits of working together in person, they should communicate the efforts being made to encourage in-person attendance. Give those new spaces descriptive names and show your team members using them, having fun and being productive.

The return-to-work path will be different for each organization, and for each individual, and prying some of those individuals away from their home office will be a challenge. But by creating more inviting and collaborative spaces and communicating the benefits of using them, you can increase your chances of having a team that works together face to face.

Texture Talks – Fabric and Feel

Fabric and Feel in Commercial Design

When we begin to imagine reinventing a commercial space, we tend to let our eyes – and our mind’s eye – take over. As a starting point, we visualize certain furniture pieces, room layouts and especially color combinations. But vision, as important as it is, is only one of our senses. The touch and feel of the finishes in a space are key to a successful design also, and have their own impact on its appearance as well.

Textures in commercial design vary widely, and that’s perhaps the most important point: Employing a variety of textures adds both visual and tactile interest to a finished space. Just as you probably wouldn’t finish an entire room in the same exact color, you should look to vary the textures as well. And just as with colors, the right combinations can both balance a space and add variety, quite literally changing the feel of a space.

There are multiple ways to incorporate textures in commercial design, including wall and ceiling finishes. For our purposes, though, we’ll focus on fabrics. Texture is determined by every single step in the production of a fabric, and manifests itself not only in how rough or smooth a given material is, but in how firm or supple, how sheer or substantial the finished product is.

In planning textures, the first consideration might be practical rather than aesthetic. For example, you probably wouldn’t choose a gauzy, delicate fabric for chairs in a preschool classroom. The weight and durability of any material should be compatible with its intended use.

Having made those determinations, textures can be planned in ways that are very similar to choosing color schemes. Just as you might choose a main color for a space, with brighter colors or patterns as accents, so it is with textures. Most of the furnishings might have a common texture with a few accent pieces that offer variations on that texture, or contrasting textures.

And while we’ve largely focused on furniture here, a typical commercial space offers other opportunities to incorporate variations fabric textures, from divider walls to acoustical panels for walls or ceilings. The possibilities are literally endless.

Interestingly, the term ‘run of the mill,’ which now refers to anything common or ordinary, has its origin in weaving mills and the mass-produced fabrics they began to turn out in the early 20^th century. A little attention paid to not only color selections but texture variations will help make sure you don’t end up with a run-of-the-mill interior space.

Questions about textured fabrics for successful design? Contact Douron.

Healthy Movement in the Classroom

If you’re of a certain age, chances are that you have a memory of a teacher telling you to sit still, stop fidgeting or something similar. After all, if you were moving around in your chair you must not have been paying attention, right? Wrong. Healthy movement in the classroom can be a good thing.

Research has confirmed that a moderate amount of movement actually helps to improve concentration and focus in the classroom. Looking at it from the other direction, sitting still does not mean paying attention … when we’re forced to be still we tend to wander mentally, become drowsy or both. This is true both in school and in professional settings, but it’s especially challenging for young people to keep still.

Children’s brains are still developing, and movement helps to refine the motor skills that lead to better coordination, which is directly linked to learning ability. Healthy movement encourages that development and helps keep kids more active and more alert, even if that movement happens while they’re seated.

So while part of the solution is to design a curriculum that allows for movement while out of their chairs, like getting out for walks or taking other breaks for physical activity, classroom design is increasingly allowing for movement while learning is happening, not as a separate activity.

This doesn’t necessarily mean having everyone rolling around on wheeled chairs (although rolling chairs are a great addition to a flexible classroom environment). Solutions can be as simple as providing seating with a footrest so kids can adjust their leg position. Chairs with adjustable height allow for changes in posture (and again are conducive to flexible classrooms). Other offerings include chairs that rock or bounce, or both, allowing a limited amount of movement but not enough to create a distraction from learning. Standing desks are another great option for healthy movement.

There’s no longer any doubt that movement helps learning rather than hindering it, so with any luck the days of those uncomfortable desk-bolted-to-the-chair classrooms are behind us.

Questions about classroom design for better learning? Contact Douron.

Classroom Design for STEM and STEAM Education

Over the past decade or so there’s been an increased focus on STEM education in America. There are several reasons for the trend, primary among them a continuing shortage of personnel for technology jobs, as well as the increased popularity of competitive robotics.

Even if students choose not to pursue a career in a technology field, a STEM curriculum teaches important skills like critical thinking, innovation and problem solving, and STEM concepts are now being incorporated into other educational disciplines as diverse as music and languages.

STEM, of course, stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Sometimes “arts” is added to the equation, changing the acronym to STEAM. For our purposes, we’ll stick with STEM, because when it comes to classroom design the principles for arts and technological pursuits are very similar.

What are those principles? First, flexibility. A STEM curriculum is not a “sit still at your desk and learn” environment. Considering seating alone, students might need to stand, sit at desks, sit on stools, roll from one place to another on chairs, or flop on a comfy couch to collaborate, all in the same day.

To accommodate all that, both high and low desks/tables are desirable, and they should be able to easily reconfigure for different circumstances. Tables that taper front to back can be used individually or combined in a tight formation for group work (like pizza slices). Surfaces need to be especially durable, also, to stand up to paints and chemicals or the heat of a soldering iron.

Often overlooked in planning educational settings for STEM is the need for storage. STEM is more than just coding and classroom learning; there’s a lot of hands-on work, and projects that may span multiple days or weeks. Just as with art projects, there must be space to safely store this work in between sessions, clearing the room for the next group.

Finally, remember to plan for the technical requirements of a STEM classroom. As students embrace technology, the environment must do the same, and it’s impractical to demonstrate coding techniques on an old-school chalkboard. Requirements will vary according to the curriculum, but electronic whiteboards and projectors are often parts of the solution. And there should be plenty of outlets or power strips so students can charge and power their devices.

Flexibility, durability and technology are three of the main keys to designing a successful STEM (or STEAM) learning space. We’re here to help.

Office Wellness: Sights, Sounds and Smells Make a Difference

In the wake of the pandemic, employee engagement has become a front-burner topic for nearly every employer. As companies navigate the return to working in person to varying degrees, they’re devoting more and more attention to keeping team members safe, happy and engaged.

What role can the workspace environment play in office wellness? A big one, in ways both good and bad. In fact, employers need to factor in at least four of the five senses in office design considerations (probably not taste, unless you’re providing lunch). Let’s take a look:

Sight:

Everyone considers colors when designing an office space, but perhaps not their potential effects on the people in it. There is science behind the psychology of colors and the emotions they can elicit. To greatly oversimplify, green is associated with creativity; blue with security, confidence and analytical thinking. Red promotes productivity in physical work (but may hinder analytical thinking), and too much white leads to boredom. Yellow? Well, people just don’t seem to like it. Use yellow sparingly. Check out the red pops of color at Fireline Corp. here.

Sound:

Too often an afterthought in office design, the acoustical properties of a space are vital to productivity and keeping team members happy. We’ve seen many very attractive spaces that are difficult to work in, especially in the age of the open office plan. This might be because workers are too close together or because the space is designed with hard surfaces that cause every sound to reverberate. It’s often easy to fix the latter situation with strategically-applied acoustical panels to deaden the space. Ensure workers have private, quiet spaces available in an open office plan. Make sure to approach office design with not only your eyes but your ears. Check out 3form Edge ceiling features here.

Smell:

Our sense of smell is tied directly to our memories, and is another factor in work productivity. Employers walk a difficult line right now: Spaces need to be cleaned and sanitized regularly, but the aromas of bleach, ammonia or other harsh cleaners can have a negative effect on productivity. These strong smells may also cause headaches or even allergic reactions. Consider cleaning products carefully and look for agreeable scents. Beyond that, you might consider enhancing office wellness with smells: Lemon is known to be good for creativity, and lavender is calming, to name just two examples. But again, you need to be mindful of potential allergies.

Feel:

No one’s going to be very productive, or very happy, if they spend their days working in an uncomfortable chair or at a desk that’s not an appropriate height. There’s such a wide selection of ergonomic office furnishings from so many manufacturers that there’s really no reason not to get this right. In general, consider adjustability: Desks that allow standing or sitting, chairs that adjust to multiple positions. Check out more office spaces at Visit Baltimore here.

Learning Hubs and Media Centers

One of the many concerns over the effects of the pandemic on learning over these past two years has been the loss of opportunities for students to collaborate in person, important for both learning and the development of social skills. One of the ways these vital needs are being addressed is through the use of learning hubs and media centers, spaces that foster a combination of socialization and education. Let’s take a look at both.

Learning hubs, also called learning commons, are spaces for students to use either between classes or after school. In some cases these are off-site areas sponsored by local communities, but many are within school walls. Designed to be more inviting than simply hanging out in hallways or lobbies, learning hubs are flexible and adaptable to a variety of needs.

There are no hard and fast rules for learning hub design, but common items typically include soft and inviting furniture, with a layout that can be adapted to individual study or group collaboration. In some ways, learning hubs reflect trends we’ve seen in colleges, and in office design. Many have cafes with coffee or other drinks and light fare, tools like whiteboards to promote group work and private spaces for counseling, tutoring or quiet study. Some may even have outdoor areas.

While some schools have added learning hubs via new construction, many more are repurposing existing space, often unused or underused spaces like lobbies or cafeterias, which might normally be occupied for only a couple of hours per day.

The media center is an extension of the same concept, but with (as the name would suggest) a focus on the technology needed to produce graphic elements for projects and presentations. For that reason, media centers (also called library commons) are typically developed within existing libraries. The media center creates a hybrid space where new technology lives side by side with ready access to books and other more traditional sources of research.

As with learning hubs, look for lounge-style furniture designed for comfort, collaboration and flexibility, as well as the preservation of the private study spaces you’ll find in a traditional library. Check out some of our collaborative spaces at Wheaton High School here.

Putting the “Welcome” in “Welcome Back”