7 Questions to Get the Best Office Interior Design Build-out or Renovation in New York City
Office interior design has taken center stage as workers in New York City and throughout the United State are returning to the office after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and people feel more safe going back to the workplace. Employers are eager to create a healthy, comfortable, and welcoming modern office for workers and clients alike. If you are considering undertaking a partial or total office renovation -- or even moving to an entirely new space as the result of expanding or downsizing -- now is the time to ask yourself some essential questions.
While there are costs involved with hiring an office design firm in addition to a general contractor for your office build-out or renovation, it is usually a good investment, as a professional designer can save you time and money. Typically, workplace interior design firms charge between $5 to $15 per square foot. Another way to estimate the expense is to factor in approximately 10% of the total cost of the project. The work they do includes the following:
Whether you hire a designer, or have the expertise to manage the project on your own, there are 7 questions you need to ask yourself before undertaking your workplace design project.
1. What Kind of Office Layout Works Best for You?
Office layout is the most important factor when considering the safety, well-being, and productivity of your office worker. The modern office is no longer a space for your employee to sit at a desk all day. Instead, it is a place of collaboration, a shared space that inspires creativity as well as productivity. Modern office design, in New York City and elsewhere, and whether for a modest renovation or for brand new company headquarters, should consider today's office design trends: to create a flexible workspace for every employee to be their most productive, comfortable, and fulfilled.
Let's take a look at how this modern office design emerged.
Cube farms: The 1970s and 80s saw the birth of the “cube farm," a trend that attempted to make the office space more private. Collaborative space stopped at the conference room and meeting room, and everywhere else, workers were confined to their desk and chair.
Open space: With the arrival of the internet, the possibility of home office, and virtualization of the workspace in recent years, a cubicle-centered office environment only enhanced a person's loneliness at the workspace. So, the design concept changed over the course of the 21st century, to bring back collaboration, communication, and creativity. Glass walls, standing desks, modern office furniture, as well as new space concepts -- e.g. the lounge area -- saw to undo the cubicles of the last century. But just how workers once resented the small space they had been confined to before, not every person was comfortable with this modern design.
Hybrid Offices: Contemporary office design has acknowledged at last the individuality of each employee. A new trend in post-pandemic commercial spaces is hoteling, or hot-desking, which on top of making workers more comfortable, has the potential to lessen real estate costs associated with having assigned desks or cubicles for every person. By providing identical workspaces on an “as needed” basis, a hybrid configuration accommodates a mixture of work and leisure activities, allowing workers to choose the office environment most appropriate to the task at hand, as well as their personal preference. Modern office design includes the incorporation of private spaces for individual work, collaborative spaces for informal and small team work, and large, more creative spaces for meetings and brainstorming.
Private Offices: Because open plans often cause distraction and do not provide for personal or quiet space, the private office remains an excellent solution in office interior design. While not the most practical from a real estate perspective, flexible workspaces can be cleverly designed to allow for the creation of private offices when needed, using movable partitions and furniture. Especially as workers return from home office post-pandemic, it is essential that the modern office offer privacy at work alongside spaces for collaboration.
2. What Functions Does the Space Need to Accommodate?
In architecture and design, a “program” refers to the various functions that a space needs to accommodate. When embarking your office build-out or renovation, you should ask yourself how workers and visitors will use the space. There is usually the need for designated areas for privacy, meetings of different sizes, and employee collaboration and interaction. Most offices in New York and other large cities in the United States include a combination of the following elements:
Desks (open office, private offices, cubicles, desk hoteling)
Conference and meeting rooms
Cafeteria
Restrooms
Phone Rooms
Lounges and/or breakout spaces
Entry Space/reception
3. Design Intent: Who Will be Using the Space?
It is important to put a modern office design intent at the forefront of your office build-out or renovation plans. First, at the beginning of the design phase, ask yourself what the office space is for and who will be using it? Logical answers include the following:
Employees
Press
Clients/Customers
Board of Directors
The next question is, What are the critical factors of the design plan that will help you realize your vision, and what materials and products are necessary to achieve the desired results? A clear focus on design intent will eliminate the costly and time-consuming need for change orders and help your contractors prioritize your design intent throughout the construction process. It will also ensure the long-term viability of your project, and make it easier for the different professionals involved to work in harmony. The design intent of your project should focus both on the functionality of the workspace as well as its aesthetics.
4. What is the Scope of the Project?
Your office interior design project’s scope is an outline of the work to be completed in each space. Determining the scope of your office interior design project is one of the first steps in achieving the end result you are looking for. It can range from a small project involving simple remodeling to a gut renovation or brand-new build-out. Consider the following examples:
Gut Renovation
Furniture and Decor for a White-Box Space
Remodeling
Reconfiguring of existing workspace
The larger the scope of your project, the more work it will need from you: the more materials you will need to source and the longer the project will take. The advantage to knowing the scope of your project from the outset is that it will help you determine your budget, establish a timeline and decide whether you will need to hire additional help, such as an interior designer or architect. Determining your project’s scope at the outset will help prevent “scope creep,” which occurs when a project grows after it has started.
5. Style: What Type of Look is Best for Your Company?
An office reflects a company’s brand and culture, and often acts as its showpiece, so office design should be in keeping with the company’s profile and be a representation of its identity. Interior design for a financial company’s headquarters will most likely differ from the interior design for a startup.
Whether you are considering an office renovation or a completely new office, the interior design style should be consistent throughout the workspace. Depending on the type of company, the style can range from traditional to contemporary or eclectic. Here are a few looks to consider based what your firm is and what kind of work it does:
Cool: This style is popular in particular industries, such as advertising and design.
Professional: A refined look is often seen in companies that work with finance, banking, insurance and professional services.
Luxurious: An opulent vibe is prevalent among finance companies.
Comfortable: Comfort is often associated with an informal, casual feel, often found at tech, non-profit, and media companies.
Modern: This look often prevails at established technology and fintech companies.
Other styles that may reflect your company’s brand may include a home-like, office space, minimalist, industrial, high-tech, biophilic and futuristic.
6. What are the Practical Considerations of the Project?
With a focus on worker comfort and well-being, office design encompasses more than just layout, aesthetics and décor. Four practical considerations when designing a commercial office in New York or anywhere in the U.S. include
Lighting
Sound Attenuation
Ergonomics and furniture
HVAC
Lighting: It is known that exposure to natural light in an office has a positive impact on employees’ well-being, morale, energy and stress levels, resulting in greater overall job satisfaction and productivity. Its benefits include reduced eye strain and headaches, improved mood and less drowsiness. The maximization of natural light also reduces energy costs. As part of your overall lighting plan, the modern office should consider features such as dimmer switches, the installation of artificial lighting that mimics natural light such as blue-enriched LED lighting, and bright, good-quality lighting.
Sound: One of the downsides of an open office plan is distraction caused by ambient noise. High noise volumes in an office can raise blood pressure, increase stress hormone levels, impair short-term memory and reduce attention. Efforts should be made to eliminate or control workers’ exposure to harmful noise in the modern office. Planning includes noise reduction, and the use of a variety of materials and techniques to improve acoustics by stopping sounds from traveling, such as noise-absorbing furniture and sound-insulating ceilings and partition walls.
Ergonomics and Furniture: Functional comfort is a major factor in worker productivity. This translates into a workspace that encourages mobility. Techniques include ergonomic chairs, the sit stand desk, and wobble stools. Giving employees the opportunity to choose where they want to work, moving from one place to another based on the task at hand, results in increased comfort and movement. Lounges with comfortable furniture, wall art, and attention to detail can provide an opportunity for workers to unwind in a relaxed position, rest from fatigue of sitting in the same chair all day, and also foment creativity and work satisfaction. A workspace with different chair options takes in the individual needs of employees and creates a more dynamic work day.
HVAC: As a result of the pandemic, as workers inch out of home office, today's commercial office design should consider such issues as limiting the number of people in conference rooms, placing chairs further apart in lounge areas, and using chairs with casters so people can literally roll seats a safe distance apart. The pandemic has also resulted in companies making fundamental changes that will be around for years to come, altering how the modern office building is designed. One major focus of attention is on buildings’ HVAC and commercial office spaces’ air circulation and filtering.
7. What is the Scale of the Project?
Not to be confused with the concept of proportion in interior design, or the scope of a project, the scale of your project relates to its size. Here are some examples of a project’s scale:
Small office
Medium-sized office
Corporate headquarters
Like a project’s scope, its scale will be another determining factor in budget, timeline and what kind of professional help you need. You may believe that your project is too small to require the services of an interior designer or architect. But even small projects may become problematic without professional assistance. Compliance with fire codes as well as local and state regulations, and obtaining the necessary building permits, all require someone experienced in the field. In addition, project management may take up too much of your time. A team of trained and licensed experts will make your life easier and ultimately save you time and money.
We’re a New York City design studio specializing in residential and commercial interior renovations. Give us a call today to discuss your project, or book a complimentary consultation here.