DESIGN & INTERIORS
good properties empty. A report by retail estate advisor CBRE shows that rents for the 100 largest law firms in London rose by 7% to an average of £43 per sq ft in 2015, forcing many companies to move away from the Capital.
However, this is not their only option. Instead of moving location, which incurs downtime and costs, businesses can start to maximise their building spend and create an environment more conducive to exercise and collaboration, simply by optimising existing space.
Take Herbert Smith Freehills for example. One of the world’s leading law firms, Herbert Smith wanted to maximise its existing space to create an environment that encouraged greater movement and collaboration. The business has a dual office layout; part open-plan and part cellular. While the open-plan space was facilitating free movement, collaboration, and therefore exercise, the cellular areas, although important for keeping distractions to a minimum, did not facilitate this. We worked with the business to implement a sit/stand working environment, installing height adjustable furniture in the cellular areas to encourage greater movement. By encouraging employees to reduce the amount of time they spend sitting every day, Herbert Smith Freehills is able to make wellbeing an important part of office life, simply by maximising the space available to employees with more ergonomic and practical furniture.
The key to improved worker wellbeing Of course, businesses can do a lot more than maximising the space available to them, to create greater wellbeing amongst employees. In October 1994 the WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) was established, to promote best practice in design and construction with evidence-based medical and scientific research – harnessing the built environment as a vehicle to support human health and wellbeing. There are various strands to this standard, but perhaps the most notable are the WELL Building Standards for fitness and comfort.
The WELL Building Standard for fitness allows for the seamless integration of exercise and fitness into everyday life, by providing the physical features and components to support an active lifestyle. This doesn’t mean that every employer has to provide an in-house gymnasium for employees, or dedicated table tennis areas – unless they want to, of course! It simply suggests that space is provided to employees for them to take time away from their desk to support movement. This space could be any social area from a canteen to a coffee bar, or even a kitchen area that people can walk to for refreshments. It is recommended that employees stand for 15 minutes every hour to invigorate both the mind and the body. This will also enable workers to burn an extra 1,875 calories per month.
By following the example set by Herbert Smith Freehills, businesses can adhere to the WELL Building Standard for Comfort. This establishes requirements designed to create a distraction-free, productive and comfortable indoor environment. Herbert wanted to keep its cellular working areas as it felt open-plan spaces may create
www.tomorrowsfm.com
distractions for workers, although this is not the case for every business. On the other hand, open-plan spaces can facilitate comfort, with more communal areas incorporated into an open-plan office design. It’s important to strike a balance and offer workspaces dedicated to quiet working, together with more integrated, collaborative environments. Careful attention paid to individual workstations can also aid greater employee wellbeing, and the type of furniture installed can have a big influence on this. For example, treadmill desks are drawing more attention as a means of facilitating exercise at work. It is estimated that working from a treadmill desk at 1mph for two hours a day, will burn more than 1,000 calories throughout the working week, the equivalent to two bottles of wine. Sketch has long been advocating improved worker wellbeing in the workplace, and has been presenting a RIBA CPD on wellbeing for nearly two years now.
Healthy mind, healthy body Exercise alone is not the only contributing factor to improved worker wellbeing, and employees can be encouraged to take their own action against sedentary working if they are inspired to do so. The WELL Building standard covers this also, with its mind standard. This encourages design, technology, and treatment strategies to provide a physical environment that optimises cognitive and emotional health.
It is recommended that employees stand for 15 minutes
every hour to invigorate both the mind and the body.
For example, simply providing workers with ample natural daylight can improve their mental state and aid sleep. A worker who sleeps for eight hours or more a day, will feel less stressed than one who does not, and therefore more empowered to undertake their own physical activities away from the office.
As reports such as that published by the University of Edinburgh demonstrate, the more workers have to sit down in the same position, the less healthy and active they become. By providing working environments that encourage exercise, movement, and collaboration, employees can become more active, improving both their mental and physical state. Furthermore, creating this environment needn’t mean a large investment, or relocation. Small and simple actions such as providing stand/sit furniture, adapting existing space to create communal areas, and maximising comfort and productivity at individual workstations can help to subvert some of the statistics that currently exist around sedentary working.
Well considered workplace design is now a valuable tool to enhance performance, engage employees, and support overall business growth, whilst also helping to attract and develop talent.
www.sketchstudios.co.uk TOMORROW’S FM | 45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56