3 Funky Ideas for Partitioning your Open-plan Office

Love it or loathe it, the open-plan office has dominated our work space for decades. Open-plan as an office concept really took off in the 1960s. With its innovation came claims that it improved communication between staff and fostered a sense of community. But, if the truth be known, a weighty influence for open-plan layout was the ability for companies to increase the surface area of a work space at low cost.

The open-plan movement

There’s been oodles of research done on the subject and we’ve come a long way from the oppressive classroom-without-a-teacher style of open-plan that evolved as far back as the 1920s. The socially democratic Bürolandschaft concept evolved in Germany in the late 1950s. It favoured an ‘office landscape’ (a literal translation) with clustered work zones based on intensive studies of communication lines. Managers were mixed with the workers, and aesthetically pleasing plants found their way into the office environment on a grand scale like never before.

Since then we’ve had partitions in all their forms, most notably the boxy American cubicles seen in many US movies. While there has been much criticism of the open-plan concept and how it’s divided up, for purely financial reasons we have to accept that it’s here to stay.

Partitioning for the Z generation

The evolution of our workforce is bringing renewed creativity to office design. Start-up hubs and innovative companies are forging the way. They’re at the cutting edge of the emerging flexible workforce. They realise the benefits of creating multi-faceted work spaces, combining open-plan desk space with communal platforms and areas workers can go to if they need quiet and privacy. Cubicles are disappearing along with the rat’s nests of cables. Rigidity is out and bang on trend are fluid work spaces and breakout areas. Lounge areas and community tables are encouraging staff to brainstorm, problem solve and engage like never before.

Google are renowned for their funky and innovative work spaces. Designed with employee creativity and productivity in mind, Google engages wholeheartedly with a broad understanding of getting the best out of people. It’s the essence of their success. And it’s not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that businesses need to grasp. It’s about understanding the nature of your workforce and actively engaging in creating a space that supports creative and organic growth for your type of business.

We’ve taken a look at the current office design trends and reviewed three funky ideas for organising space in the workplace.

Office Pods

Office pods aren’t just popping up in back gardens as handy work spaces or man caves. Whether for breakaway quiet areas or collaborative work spaces, office pods are becoming the norm in the most innovative offices and start-up hubs. It’s the new, smart way to divide office space.

Rooms within rooms have always been a part of the open-plan office. Franklin Hart, Jr. leering out over his secretary pool in the 1980s film Nine to Five is enough to send a chill down anyone’s back. Fear not, modernity has arrived. The new pods are sleek, funky and represent a refreshing and creative working environment for all. They’re not just a haven for the boss. The revamped idea of rooms within rooms has a whole new meaning and represents inclusivity, rather than exclusivity. Pods offer increased acoustics for meetings, training and phone calls, as well as quiet spaces for complete focus. They come in all shapes and sizes, and can be as minimalist or as colourful as you like. What’s more, they’re portable, so you can shake-up the office design anytime you like.

Plant Based Solutions

Plant based solutions for dividing up the office have been around for decades. Not only do plants provide screening, there have been numerous studies over the years researching how office plants impact on employee well-being. So what’s new? With the ideal of well-being firmly entrenched in office design, plants in the office are here to stay. Given the amount of time we spend at work, it’s not surprising to hear the current trends in office design include bringing lifestyle amenities to the office. Lounges, outdoor spaces and games areas are morphing work spaces into home.

What’s new is how we are incorporating and utilising planting in the new office designs. Current trends include living walls, plant portraits, succulents and hanging plants, along with repetitive planting. Old favourites like the kentia palm are no longer confined to reception areas. Rows of palms stand proudly in place of the drab partitioning of old and are a nod to this summer’s trending tropical and botanical design prints.

Acoustic Panels

Acoustic panels have evolved in response to the challenge of noise in open-plan offices. Texture and geometric patterns are turning functional partitioning into works of art, and they’re not just being used in conventional ways. Acoustic panelling is being added to walls and hanging from ceilings, and even furniture is doubling up in both partitioning and sound absorption.

So, there you have it, on trend partitioning in a nutshell. Good luck with your next office revamp!

BIO:

Dakota Murphey: BA (hons) Marketing graduate, social media consultant and rented-office-worker. For parts of the information in this article, indoor plants – an office plant service specialist – were consulted. View their entire office plant range here.