Monday 27 October 2014

For some people getting to the office everyday is fun, because they know that where they are going it's going to be a great day. This weeks installment while to some may seem a bit boring, yes I know there I've said it, but that's only because it doesn't include the usual nice places to visit or to dream of going one day, it doesn't have clever little ideas ( ok there are still some), what it is about this week is the 'Modern office', again, I have been doing a lot of reading about and looking at various office interiors around the world trying to compare or to gauge what we are doing here in NZ. While some of the office interiors seem to be up to with the play, I just can't help but get the feeling that we are not quite doing it right. I've been and visited a number of the 'new ' offices that have been designed and built in the last couple of years and it seems to me that the basic drivers for the 'new' office are being put to one side and they have become driven more by the budgets than anything else. Everyone wants the sort of offices that we see here in this blog but the budgets hit and everyone is left with a hollow feeling that this could have been that much better, or that that would have worked that way if that had been done ( can you understand that). Now I'm not saying that we have to do everything the way it is done overseas, I really like the design work going on here in New Zealand, we do seem to be able to achieve really good results on shoe strings, what I am trying to show here are ideas, take a little bit of inspiration from an image, say "hey we couldn't do all of that, but we could use that". And some of the ideas are in my opinion quite naive and seem to be done for the sake of doing something. Pure designe frippery. These images are not here to make you envious of what is happening overseas, more to give you an idea,  a setting, a color, a type of furniture, an idea incorporated into your own spaces, just to get you thinking a little outside the square I guess. So this week, modern open plan offices, have a look see what people are doing and enjoy the work of some very good interior designers. By the way did you know that we have quite a few of them here at Planet Design too, that any of you can use at anytime. (shameless plug but hey it's my Blog)

This person must wake up in the morning and really look forward to getting to the office, I'll bet her day must start with a yeeeehaaaaaaa!!!!!!!




 This is not a restaurant, it's a quiet meeting area separated from the office by tone, feel, lighting, and finish, a complete contrast to the actual 'out there' office.Makes people feel like they're not in the office, grab a coffee, have a meeting.













































 This is Nokia in Norway, nicely separated self contained work spaces being heavily utilized




 I like the way these offices are floated off of the ground to make it feel like you have left the office and are entering someones individual space, almost like someones house if you will. very Cool idea.


 How much fun is this space, I would bet staff satisfaction is off of the scale here








 Phone booths in offices, because open plan modern offices have become so quiet that you need these sorts of things in your offices. I've not seen one here in NZ yet.









 Lockers are making a comeback ( yes we used to use these back in the 60's and 70's when we had places of work for hundreds and hundreds of people, entire industries were built on the manufacture of lockers, but it has to be said these days they are a whole lot better.

 window manifestations are getting pretty hipster these days too. Use them to liven a place up.
 use your space to the maximum.
 This is in Holland, and shows how a collaborative office can work with limited space but still being very cool.










 Now who among you would be brave enough to put one of these in your office? I think that this is brilliant, what a great way to gauge the mood of your office. Private and personal staff feedback
A galley kitchen in the middle of the office, and an idea that i like above are the clear air conditioning ducts, that's a great touch. Most of the images that you see here you will notice that there are no ceilings and all the services are exposed, this is what we should be doing, right now.




 These desks slide back and forth as the group dynamic changes. I like this idea
Nice to see the way these designers have still manages to incorporate that Marrakesh market type feel to their Moroccan offices. great public space right in the heart of the building.


 Nicely done open plan


Look closely there's some great ideas going on in here.Two design concepts of the same space. now you may think that this looks all very nice and colorful and that people really don't work in space like this.

But they actually do!!!!!!!












 For those of you who are perhaps seeking divine inspiration, a fantastic shot of a church interior out of the Vatican city.











 Thought that this was pretty cool, you are here...............man...............you have arrived



 Liked the BANG of color at the end of the hall




 Some people just like to work in solitude, some call it concentration
 Nice loft office about to be tenanted.







 Quiet meeting spaces attached to the backs of meeting rooms, great double usage of space


Why do we always build kitchenettes against walls when we have a clean slate to start with. They can become stations in the center and get used from both sides far better.







 Phone rooms what a great idea










 This person must have a sunny disposition, I really like this















 I found this kitchen when I was getting lost on the net,really liked it a lot.









 This made me stop





















































 Nature taking control










 I'm telling you watch out for these greys, they are coming






Just likes this, one mans answer to a paradise................that moves
Now some of these offices that you have just been looking at seem a bit like Disney Land. Take from them what you can, and use your designers, this is what they are great at.