Skip navigation

With modern-style office spaces, we are bidding farewell to the standard cubicle layout. The one that for years made employees feel like rats stuck inside a maze. Or even a cage. Nowadays, we have vibrant colour palettes, extensive spaces, and natural lighting and materials. Shifting from closed to open offices has impacted the productivity and ingenuity of employees working in a modern office building.

Office designs of the modern era are evolving to suit the needs of post-COVID-19 work environments. However, making the transition from traditionally closed office space to a modern layout means taking certain things into consideration. 

The significance of a modern office building design

Employee satisfaction requires more than just salary or financial compensation these days. What they need to be productive is a workplace stimulating three key facets: creativity, collaboration, and communication. At the same time, this space needs to reduce stress and anxiety. 

A successful office design improves productivity and generates better results for a business. Your workplace should allow people to concentrate on what they are doing, as well as collaborate and communicate. Additionally, it should effectively promote wellness – both physically and mentally – so your team can perform at their best. This, above all else, is what modern office building trends aim to achieve.

Enforce creativity, collaboration, and communication

The three above-mentioned facets are behaviours that managers are always trying to encourage in their team. When they are infused into your employees’ actions, their work becomes high-quality. Business owners and managers can stimulate collaboration, creativity, and communication in an assortment of ways. However, the most effective method is by utilizing their employees’ work environment.

Creativity can be encouraged by applying a bright colour palette to your design elements. Whether your entire office has a specific theme or there are splashes of colour throughout the space, bright tones can boost your employees’ creativity. This in turn will help them with their work. Likewise, you can enforce communication and collaborative ideas through desk, furniture, and technology arrangement.

Incorporate open office space

The more traditional seating formation involves the workers sitting close together without any walls or other barriers. For the most part, rather than each worker having their own desk, they instead share longer workbenches. This way, the workers have their own space with various supplies, such as a computer, mouse, keyboard, and phone.

Highly collaborative work activities (ex. people frequently asking questions) benefit from open office areas. Marketing, sales, and creative disciplines typically incorporate open-plan working areas into their layout to boost communication and teamwork.

For all the benefits that come from open office designs, there are a handful of drawbacks. These include distractions, noise, and of course, very little privacy. This is primarily why workspaces that are activity-oriented are crucial. They make sure that there is enough space available for all types of work.

Industrial office aesthetic

Industrial office design has been a major trend as of late and it shows no signs of running out of steam. Think the design of industrial factories except it is cozier and tailor-made for an office environment. This particular design is purely aesthetic and is unsophisticated on purpose. Moreover, it produces an atmosphere for office workers that is raw and rustic.

Some industrial design trends you may recognize include the following:

  • Exposed ceiling air ducts, ceiling pipes, and/or ceiling beams
  • Exposed brick walls that run alongside the office space’s exterior
  • High ceilings
  • Overhanging light fixtures with exposed light bulbs
  • Massive windows
  • Minimal to no interior walls, which will result in more open space
  • Natural wood in lieu of treated wood
  • Instead of wooden or carpeted floors, they are made of concrete

The industrial style paints your business as being creative, atypical, and outside the norm. Integrating this style of design is a huge step away from corporate luxury. In fact, start-ups and companies whose brand identities focus on simplicity wholeheartedly embrace it.

Final thoughts on developing a modern office building

With more people returning to the office after working remotely for months, creating a smart workplace is more vital than ever. By integrating modern design trends into your office, you will ensure a better work environment. To learn more and obtain a quote for your office design project, contact our Calgary construction location. Moreover, if you want to learn about how much this construction process will cost, check out our article The Cost of Office Space Construction.