How to create a modern workspace
Four ways you can use office flooring to help create a modern and collaborative workspace
.webp "Tessera Union")
Modern workspaces are constantly evolving, with many offices incorporating hybrid working practices that require adaptation of the interior space to continue promoting collaboration between employees. By creating spaces that stimulate creativity and collaboration, architects and designers can ensure that employees remain happy and healthy, working together to achieve shared goals. Read on, as we will discuss five different factors to consider when designing a modern and collaborative workspace.
Zoning out different spaces
Many modern offices can be open plan, with no real clues as to what different areas are used for and breakrooms blending into workspaces. However, by creating ‘zones’ for each area through the specification of different floor coverings, you can help employees and visitors to better navigate and utilise each interior space.
As one of the largest surface areas in any building, modern office flooring can play an integral role in achieving this. By specifying a collection that contains a range of designs, each able to be easily combined with other colourways or flooring types, different zones can be created. For example, carpet tiles – a versatile floor covering with many benefits for commercial spaces – are a popular choice due to their natural underfoot comfort and wide range of design choices, fulfilling the needs of each area within an office.
.webp "tessera union")
Forbo’s Tessera Union collection is perfect for these environments, with three different ranges; Tessera Infused, Tessera Accord and Tessera Harmony, all able to be tonally matched with each other. Ranging from neutral greys and browns to more vibrant reds and greens, and all manufactured using coordinated yarns, the Tessera Union collection can help to create beautiful, integrated flooring designs, with interesting pattern changes – combining multiple colourways from the same range.
In addition to this, the collection can be combined with Forbo’s Allura Flex Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) and planks, as well as a range of Forbo’s other Tessera carpet tiles, helping to further increase the options for architects and designers to choose between.
.webp "Tessera Infused")
.webp "Tessera Accord")
Adding a touch of colour
Some offices can look plain and barren, with a ‘one size fits all’ approach to design. Whilst it isn’t bad to use neutral colourways throughout focused workspaces, using some of our design inspiration and inspiration and references references to add pops of colour to the overall flooring scheme (or elsewhere in the interior) can aid in stimulating creativity and collaboration.
Colour psychology is a very real phenomenon, with different colours evoking different emotions within people. For example, blue connotes wisdom, reason, and peace, whereas yellow can encourage creativity, happiness, or hope.
The brighter, more eye-catching colourways could be used in breakout spaces, break rooms and canteens to help stimulate creativity or relaxation, while the more neutral shades can be used around desks where concentration and focus is key.
.webp "Biophilic design in workspace")
Bring the outside in
Biophilic design is of rising popularity, with many craving a connection with nature and the outdoors, resulting in more natural tones and colours being incorporated into interior spaces. This is no different for workspaces, where it has been proven that biophilic design can increase productivity by 15% .
With this in mind, finding products that can link to nature through earthy tones, patterns or designs may help to increase productivity and in turn collaboration. One small way to bring the outdoors in could be through the use of naturally patterned floor coverings, reminiscent of the outdoors, or specifying earthy brown, green or grey colourways. Alternatively, consider featuring houseplants around the office, or even creating an outdoor dedicated break space to better connect a workforce with the outdoors.
Lighting
Lighting, or the lack thereof, can have a major impact on any workspace, with one statistic claiming humans spend 90% of their day indoors . As a result of this, many working people crave natural lighting, allowing their natural circadian rhythm to stay in sync and helping the body’s natural in-built clock to run correctly.
With this in mind, the Light Reflectance Value (LRV) of any surface in a space should be considered - this can influence how light is reflected off of a surface back into the space, if correctly balanced, can be used to spread light around a room. By using a light-coloured paint on the walls, with a high LRV and mixing it with a similarly toned floor covering, you can ensure natural light reaches further into an office, therefore benefitting more employees
.webp "Workspace flooring")
View the Tessera union collection or Forbo’s office flooring for more information.