Workplace Design
The demands of healthcare also require a careful balance between
comfort, durability and hygiene. Furniture must
withstand intensive daily use and be easy to clean and disinfect without compromising on support or durability. Flexibility is another key consideration. Healthcare needs change rapidly, whether it’s reconfiguring or creating surge capacity during peak periods. Furniture that can be adapted quickly and efficiently provides facilities managers with resilience and reduces costs in the long run.
Education spaces add further complexity. These are workplaces for both teachers and students and the interior environment directly affects engagement, concentration and wellbeing. Furniture here must be versatile enough to support a wide range of activities – from group collaboration to individual study – and robust enough to withstand daily use by hundreds of pupils. Teachers, too, face their own ergonomic challenges, spending long hours standing, moving between classrooms or working at desks. Facilities managers must therefore specify interiors that serve both groups simultaneously, balancing durability with comfort and inclusivity.
Across all these environments, there are clear themes that facilities managers should prioritise. Wellbeing has to come first. Furniture that supports physical health, reduces strain and creates environments people enjoy being in can make a measurable difference to productivity and morale. Flexibility and adaptability are also
vital. Workplaces evolve, whether
through organisational growth, changes in working patterns or unforeseen pressures, and interiors need to keep pace without requiring constant reinvestment. Durability and ease of maintenance add further
value, reducing disruption and
lifecycle costs. Inclusivity is another consideration, ensuring that all individuals – regardless of body type or physical ability
– feel supported by their environment practically and visually. Increasingly, sustainability
with many organisations expecting facilities managers to ensure procurement choices reflect their environmental goals.
Furniture may sometimes be seen as a secondary concern compared to HVAC systems, lighting or structural projects, but it is in fact a critical element of workplace performance. The right choices can reduce time off taken by employees, increase productivity and even improve recruitment and retention by creating environments where people genuinely, want to spend time. For facilities managers, this means taking a strategic rather than purely operational view. Collaborating with colleagues across HR, health and safety and even end users themselves can provide valuable insights into what people really need from their environment. Piloting new designs, gathering feedback and monitoring outcomes can help ensure that choices deliver on both performance and value.
Workplaces, whether offices, hospitals or schools, are more than just functional spaces, they are environments in which people spend significant portions of their lives. For facilities managers, the responsibility of shaping these environments is considerable. Furniture might seem like a detail compared to the larger systems that keep a building running, but it touches the daily lives of every person who walks through the door. By prioritising comfort, adaptability, durability and inclusivity, facilities managers can create environments that are not only efficient but enriching, ensuring that the 90,000 hours people spend at work are spent in spaces that help them thrive. With decades of experience in workplace and contract furniture, companies like Knightsbridge can provide valuable support and insight, helping facilities managers navigate these challenges and make choices that deliver lasting benefit.
is also central to decision-making,
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