Creating a Physical Experience: A Framework for Workplace Transformation.
In a digital-dominated world, physical experiences are inherently human-centered, fostering a sense of empathy and building stronger relationships. It engages multiple senses, including touch, sight, sound, and sometimes even taste and smell.
Physical experience design refers to the intentional and strategic design of sensory and interactive elements within physical spaces for creating an environment that evokes emotions, tells a story, and leaves a lasting impression on the user.
Organizations recognize the critical role of their employees in driving success. To harness the potential of their workforce, our client, Red Baron reached out to us to design a new workspace that would align with their hiring needs, accommodate individual personalities, and reflect their unique brand identity.
Acknowledging that a one-size-fits-all approach would not suffice, our objective was to develop a framework that prioritizes people and culture, bridging the gap between business objectives and workplace requirements.
The Framework
Our recommended framework for the workspace transformation project focused on four key principles: Convergence Zone, Huddle Space, Creativity Springs, and Focus Nook. Each principle was carefully crafted to address different aspects of the work environment and cater to the diverse needs of the users i.e. the employees in this case.
- Convergence Zone: Prioritizing learning and knowledge sharing in this stage, the aim was to inculcate a culture of continuous learning and collaboration. We created spaces that encouraged insightful conversations, allowing individuals to cross-collaborate and learn from one another for a collective benefit. By providing areas for brainstorming, sharing ideas, and collaborative work, our intent was to stimulate imagination and creative thinking.
- Huddle Space: Offering a variety of collaborative settings recognizing that different tasks require different work settings, we incorporated a diverse range of spaces into the design. These included meeting rooms for formal discussions, and standing desks in more open, collaborative areas. This variety enabled individuals and teams to choose the environment that best suited their needs, ensuring privacy when required and promoting comfortable interactions.
- Creativity Springs: Facilitating moments of inspiration often strikes unexpectedly, and we aimed to create an environment that nurtured these moments. By incorporating elements like open breakout areas, comfortable seating, and natural light, we provided opportunities for people to move around, decompress, and engage in informal conversations. This allowed for a more natural flow of ideas and fostered a sense of inspiration throughout the workspace.
- Focus Nook: Providing comfort for all contrary to misconceptions surrounding open-plan offices, our framework recognized the importance of providing spaces where individuals could focus on their own work. We collaborated closely with an architecture firm to design the workspace acoustically, ensuring that individuals could retreat to quieter areas when needed. By considering the diverse work styles and preferences of employees, we ensured that comfort and productivity went hand in hand.
By prioritizing people and culture, our framework successfully bridged the gap between business objectives and workplace requirements. It formed the foundation of the workspace transformation, creating an engaging physical experience that fosters collaboration, inspiration, and individual comfort.
Experience the transformation firsthand as you browse through the images of our completed site showcased below.
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