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Posted by Brendon Hunsdon on 8th May 2019
Biophilia in the workplace and biophilic design is the practice of incorporating nature into the office in order to blend both indoor and outdoor environments together, thus in turn providing a more natural work environment.
Studies have shown that working in natural outdoor environments can have a positive impact on employees happiness levels, attitude and in turn productivity levels - therefore it makes a lot of sense that employers are now looking for innovative ways to bring nature inside their work environments.
Biophilia in the workplace doesn't necessarily mean that you have to purchase a number of potted plants and scatter them around your office! Instead there are now a whole range of clever solutions which integrate biophilic design into everyday items and furniture items, this is great news for employers (especially those with limited physical space) as it means that some furniture items can feature biophilia whilst utilising the same amount of floor-space.
Manufacturers shown - Top left: KI. Bottom left: KI. Right: Jennifer Newman.
Agile working is a way of working in which an organisation encourages and enables its employees to work where, when and however they choose – with maximum flexibility and minimum constraints.
In terms of the office environment - this would translate for example, to employees working from 'touch-down' workstations or even from breakout/lounge spaces where they can get away from the often fast-paced and busy atmosphere of desk working.
Manufacturers shown - Top left: Boss Design. Bottom left: Vitra. Top right: Orangebox. Bottom right: Connection.
The emergence of what we're calling "unusual" or "unconventional" work spaces could be as a direct result of the above point; agile working - as there are so many different types of people, there are also a vast amount of learning and working styles that best suit these people.
This in-turn results in an increase in the popularity of these unconventional work spaces, which we believe could see further growth in 2019. Examples of unconventional workspaces include; any soft seating areas such as bean bags or lounge chairs, and with modern technology meaning everything can be done wirelessly, employees are not limited to only working from areas with power outlets.
Manufacturers shown - Top left: Ocee Design. Bottom left: Vitra. Top right: Max Furniture. Bottom right: Spacestor.
Breakout & collaborative work spaces have been a big thing within the office environment for a number of years now, and we don't see that changing any time soon, in fact we're sure that these trends will be on the rise yet again looking forward into 2019.
It would seem that more and more employers are warming to the idea that the office environment can, and should be a fun one, whilst still remaining productive (if not more productive!). Providing employees with areas where they can unwind, de-stress or focus on an important task.
A lot of manufacturers are supporting this view point, which we are noticing from the types of products that are being released. See below for some interesting examples of this;
Manufacturers shown - Top left: Orangebox. Bottom left: BuzziSpace. Top right: Frovi. Bottom right: Boss Design.
On the 23rd of May, Tony, Brendon, Rhiannon and I attended Clerkenwell Design Week 2018. It’s the UK’s leading independent design festival which annually attracts the international design community to this small area in London. Last year, the design community flocked to Clerkenwell with 34,128 attendees and over 300 exhibiting brands.It was an exciting and [...]
Think Furniture have just arrived back from a visit to the stunning 'Salone Del Mobile' furniture fair in Milan, and all we can say is.. wow!- OVERVIEW -Dating back to September 1961 and consisting of over 2000 exhibitors spread across more than 200,000 sq. metres, the Salone Del Mobile furniture fair is a highly popular, [...]
It's nearly summer! That time of year where our days are longer, our nights shorter and our spirits higher. Here at Think Furniture we don't just provide office and indoor furniture, we also provide outdoor furniture items, such as; outdoor dining tables, picnic style bench seating, plastic and metal dining chairs, box planters and much [...]
There has been a steady rise in the number of offices utilising informal meeting and relaxation areas, also known as 'Breakout' areas, the aim of these spaces is ultimately to increase employee productivity and happiness levels. These spaces usually consist of some comfortable soft seating where employees can sit, relax and escape from their workstations for [...]
It's all about the task chairs here at Think Furniture, and 2016 has seen a great range of game-changing task chairs from the majority of our top-selling manufacturers!Below you can see a list of some of our favourites from the year, some were unveiled at '100% Design', some at 'Design Junction' & some at 'Milan [...]
In May this year, Tony, Brendon, Nigel, Amandine and I attended Clerkenwell Design Week. This is the first time Amandine and myself have participated in such a design event. This is one of the leading independent design festivals with more than 35,000 visitors and 300 exhibiting brands last year. A short journey on high speed and tube [...]
Once again Think Furniture and Enaflo Interiors attended the 'Kent Vision Live' expo at Detling to showcase what is new and innovative in workplace design and in the world of furniture.The show attracted a diverse range of visitors and we enjoyed a high level of interest in our competition to win a HAG [...]
This month saw the Think Furniture team head off to the bitterly cold and crisp climes of Stockholm for the 2016 furniture fair.As was expected, there was a high level of emphasis on wooden themes this year, continuing with the current trend for a more residential feel within the workplace, including many variations of wooden [...]
