The space your business operates in can impact everything from the way your business operates to employee morale and attitude. The best commercial spaces are set up to maximize productivity while creating a comfortable environment for your employees. Achieving this kind of space takes careful planning from a team of experts.
If your business struggles to achieve optimal productivity in the space available, a commercial remodel may be the solution. Making alterations to the layout, acoustics, ergonomics and other characteristics of your work environment can help.
Open office spaces are famously adaptable, allowing businesses to add more employees and more workstations to their floor space with little notice. During the pandemic, this type of layout was beneficial for employers that needed to create "hot stations" where remote workers could easily set up a temporary work station for the day or week as needed.
Whether your business is growing, shrinking, or just changing with the times, open layouts allow your business to create and recreate your commercial work space as needed.
These layouts are more than just wide-open spaces where employees gather. The best designs have nooks as well as wide open areas, and include variations in lighting and character throughout the space. This makes it possible for your business and employees to find the right workspace for the right circumstances.
While it's important to have open spaces where employees can work in singles, it's also important to build collaborative spaces where employees can work together in pairs or teams. Collaborative spaces can take many forms, from clusters of chairs in an out-of-the-way space, to a table behind a screen, temporary wall, or behind a more permanent wall.
Most businesses need spaces that are appropriate for confidential conversations as well as more open areas. Install spaces of both kinds as you move forward with your office remodel to ensure that your employees and managers have places for a variety of work tasks.
The aesthetics of your office space is just as important as the actual structure and layout. The way your office looks impacts everything from your employee frame of mind to the perception of your business and its character. It's important to reinforce your company brand through all aesthetic choices, including the aesthetics of the office space that your business occupies.
When we think of ergonomic office design, most of us think of ergonomic furniture to prevent back problems and nerve damage like carpal tunnel. While this is obviously an important part of maintaining an ergonomic work space, there are other factors to consider. Everything from the temperature to the lighting to the acoustics of your office work space can impact your employee safety and comfort.
Design your office space for human comfort and compatibility. Work with experts to ensure that your office space will have adequate natural lighting as well as artificial lighting to make tasks easier and put less strain on the eyes. Replace your office HVAC system if needed and install smart thermostats to help maintain a comfortable work environment throughout the work day. Finally, consider acoustic dampening tiles and walls to minimize background noises that distract employees.
Biophilic design is trending in office and commercial spaces for a variety of reasons. Biophilic design is architectural design that facilitates healthy interactions between people and the natural environment. From growing plants in your office space to installing expansive floor-to-ceiling windows in your building, biophilic design helps create a peaceful environment where people can relax their mind and focus on the task at hand.
Biophilic design brings green outdoor space right up to your indoor spaces and then mixes them. You may create this kind of environment by installing patio doors that open onto a large green lawn, installing skylights, allowing for fresh outdoor air to enter your office space, or even by building your office around a tree or large plant in the natural environment, without cutting it down.
One of the most eco-friendly ways to create an office space is to engage in adaptive reuse. This is a concept that is applied heavily in historic urban spaces around Connecticut, where old warehouses and office buildings are often converted into modern spaces.
Adaptive reuse requires the contractor and architect to work with the materials already on hand, re-using as many materials and structures as possible without tearing them down. Adaptive reuse allows your office space to retain its original charm and character, even while it's outfitted for modern use.
Older buildings sometimes contain hazardous materials like lead paint and asbestos. In addition, the fine details like hand carved wood and stone can require a delicate hand. It's important to work with a contractor that has experience renovating older buildings, to ensure that hazardous materials are properly remediated while the details worth saving are protected.
Finding the right team to start your commercial remodel is important. Before you get started with your project, download the Litchfield Builders guide to finding a professional remodeling contractor in Connecticut.