Boss Design: adapting to the requirements of flexible workspaces
Workplace demands and expectations have changed dramatically over the past two years. The office’s mission statement is being drafted and its role and function are being redefined. Mark Barrell, design director at a global furniture manufacturer Boss designargues that the rise of hybrid or blended working – and 80% of Boss clients have adopted this model – means offices need to become “destination spaces,” or rather a series of different destination spaces.
Fundamentally, says Barrell, time spent in the shared workplace is now less about routine and prescribed shifts and more about a goal. And people will need different types of workspace depending on that purpose.
More choice
Boss’s clients include Google, Microsoft, British Airways and PwC, so Barrell has a pretty good idea of market needs. “People will have more choices,” he says, “choosing where they want to work and controlling the match between the most appropriate place to work and the tasks that need to be done that day- the”.
The rise of hybrid or mixed work means that offices must become “destination spaces”, or rather a series of different destination spaces.
The office is now primarily a place to connect with company culture, collaborate with teammates, and learn or pass on learning, says Barrell. Upside-down, focused office work will still happen, but rows of work desks and chairs are clearly an outdated model of office organization. “The best work environments offer a combination of work, interaction and relaxation,” he says.
Reinventing the wing chair
Barrell argues that a key trend right now is a loosening up of office layouts and fixtures, not forced or contrived domestication, but a greater emphasis on comfort and more relaxed settings. Chief‘ New Amelia wing chair exemplifies this trend.
Chief Designer Aaron Clarkson wanted to create an iconic silhouette that could stand the test of time but also a chair that had visual and real softness and tactility. With Amelia, Clarkson elegantly reimagines the traditional rear fender in a unique, gently curved shape and worked with the master upholsterers at Boss to ensure multiple fabrics work perfectly with its simple organic lines. In the office environment, Amelia becomes a sort of instant cozy cocoon, providing visual and acoustic privacy. Amelia can also be configured with one of four different bases and with standard or plush upholstery.
Sustainability in the foreground
Boss has also kept sustainability front and center in the design of Ameliaminimizing waste during manufacture, but also using durable materials – molded polyurethane foam over a steel support frame – which means that tired and worn upholstery can be easily replaced to breathe new life into the chair .
While many offices have focused on providing spaces for team collaboration, Barrell says, they’ve paid less attention to providing space for short one-on-one meetings, video conferences and focused work. , the spaces where post-collaborative action actually occurs.
Modular and flexible workspaces
While working pods provide welcome private space, Barrell argues that most are not pleasant, productive places. The new boss Mews modular module system offers softer and more textured natural materials, but also better acoustics, better air quality and lighting suitable for videoconferencing. As Barrell says, Teaming, Zoom and the like are now a permanent feature of professional life and Boss has worked with photographers and videographers when creating the lighting for Alleyensuring that your screen presence is as perfect as possible.
the Mews pod system was also designed to create a usable work and meeting space between the modules, which can also be closed with a curtain for more privacy. “We believe that successful workplace planning, now perhaps more than ever, relies on high levels of flexibility, modularity and adaptability,” says Barrell.