contact_office_magazine_#38_EN

Office Concepts
The role of the office is fundamentally changing.
While spaces for focused work are becoming smaller
with people increasingly working from home or
remotely, the need for communication zones is
growing. The office is becoming more of a space for
collaboration, creative communication, and training
and education. Often, the existing space cannot keep
pace with these new scenarios. The solution lies in
multifunctional rooms, which require a great deal of
planning consideration to work effectively.
One space, many use cases.
Obviously, companies can’t provide a separate
room for every single communicative situation. But
certain scenarios can be effectively combined in
multifunctional rooms, particularly all the various
kinds of training sessions: seminars, courses, lectures,
presentations and workshops, etc. To facilitate this
multi-use concept, the room needs appropriately
flexible space, furniture and media concepts.
Provided there is sufficient
floorspace, a combined
room concept
increases the
options available
considerably.
Two or three
smaller multifunctional
rooms
can be combined to
form one large event space by incorporating flexible,
soundproof room division systems. This further
expands the number of ways the room can be used
– for example to include meetings, conferences and
banquets.
One of the most crucial factors in an effective multifunctional
room is the acoustics. Textile flooring
combined with acoustic ceiling panels are often the
most effective way of making the space acoustically
comfortable.
Good light planning is also vital. Due to the changing
use cases and configurations, the room should
not contain single-spot illumination, but rather
enjoy even lighting across the entire area.
Mobility is key.
The furnishings chosen should be as mobile as
possible so that the room can be rearranged quickly
without significant effort. And don’t forget that the
furniture will need to be stored compactly either in
the same room or a separate area.
Stacking tables or pivoting folding tables on rollers
are the best choice here. Any that aren’t needed can
be effortlessly rolled from A to B and stacked on
top of one another. In terms of chairs, criteria such
as comfort, fast and simple setup, and a stackable
design should be top priorities. Lecterns can be
fashioned by arranging different pieces of furniture
– from a traditional stand to small standing desks or
mobile trolleys that can also hold parts of the media
equipment and cabling. Sideboards can be used not
only as storage for media equipment, but also as a
place to set down any catering offerings.
Media concept requirements have become considerably
more sophisticated in recent years. Depending
on the size of the room, projectors are increasingly
being replaced by large screens. Mobile digital
whiteboards are also becoming more commonplace
in multifunctional rooms, as is video conferencing
equipment to enable remote participants to join in
seamlessly with hybrid events. But despite all this
digitalisation, analogue media is still needed. Flipcharts,
pinboards and whiteboards are still highly
effective tools, especially when it comes to capturing
information quickly and easily, or gathering creative
ideas from a group. With the increasing use of digital
media and devices, requirements are also rising in
terms of the room’s electricity, network and media
connections. Electricity cabling in particular requires
thorough planning. The better the cabling is integrated
into the furniture, the cleaner the cable management.
However, overcomplicated connections can
make it more difficult to switch between furniture
setups. Cleverly positioned ports – ideally in floor
boxes – combined with cable boxes integrated into
the desks and tables, make plug-and-play a breeze.
Wi-Fi technologies are, obviously, increasingly
playing a leading role in the digitalisation of communication
spaces. This particularly concerns wireless
connections to the network and media equipment.
When it comes to visualisation and presentation
via wireless screensharing, there are also a range of
sophisticated solutions that are well-supported by
modern devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops) and
screens.
Zone planning in multifunctional rooms.
A sophisticated zone and space plan is needed to
cover all of the various scenarios a multifunctional
room will play host to. The aim is to avoid wasting
space and creating bottlenecks. Multifunctional
rooms should be planned as communication zones
whose size and layout are flexible and can support
various forms of communication with the help of
a mobile furnishing concept. You will need to plan
the following areas: action zone for hosting and
presentation duties, a participant area, areas between
furniture for people to walk along, areas for storing
furniture and equipment, and a breakout area nearby
but ideally in a separate space from the actual communication
room.
WORKSHOP CONFERENCE EDUCATION TRAINING
CONCLUSION:
The only way to use space
efficiently is to plan intelligent and
holistic zone and design concepts.
These ensure the necessary communication
quality and establish a
positive meeting culture.
8 contact
contact 9