The Growing Influence of Modern Design on The Work Place

It was Design Week recently in New York City and at the center of it all was the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which featured everything from the functional to the far-out.

Take New York designer Tarry St. John’s much-talked about geometric, brass room-divider which does nothing for privacy but definitely adds a sculptural touch to your room. Many were also impressed with the vibrant rugs of Filipino designer Inigo Elizalde. Hand-knotted in Nepal, the collection included brilliant psychedelic colors or abstracted tropical foliage. We also were taken with Erickson’s Aesthetics’ cowhide-draped lounge chair and — in spite of ourselves — Native Union’s iPhone case inlaid with real marble.

Great design makes us believe that objects will, almost magically, improve our quality of life. But this thinking isn’t just home-decor fantasy. Architects and designers increasingly are charged with creating not just an aesthetically appealing space, but one that improves creativity, collaboration and productivity as well at the workplace.

As a result, forward-thinking businesses have been breaking down walls and manipulating the flow of people. Current office design trends include providing multiple common areas for groups to collaborate, more open spaces in general, and greater use of glass.

“Everyone’s talking about space, but it’s not just about having the largest conference table or room for a foosball table,” says ZEITGUIDE friend Andy Griffith of A+R, a modern design furniture and lighting retailer who’s trade projects this last year included the Eli Broad foundation and the Beats Electronics headquarters in Los Angeles. “Space also needs to be considered in terms of height and in terms of flexibility.”

Rose Apodaca, A+R’s cofounding partner agrees: “Flexibility is definitely a factor. The rapid growth of many companies, especially in tech or creative industries, has revealed a need for furnishings that can be reconfigured, moved quickly and rescaled according to momentary needs. Versatility matters.”

In his 2014 book “Creativity, Inc.” Pixar President Ed Catmull described similar “flexibility” to the work environment when he and other company leaders moved their offices from the top floor to the second floor, “right in the middle of things.” But then they went a step further: they located bathrooms strategically in the center of the building to encourage employees from different departments to cross paths and exchange ideas.

To be sure, there’s been plenty of backlash against the end of private office spaces at work. Office furniture company Steelcase recently rolled out a line of “worklounge pods” to re-instill some bit of seclusion in an open-office setting.

Robin Klehr Avia, regional managing principal at the design and architecture firm Gensler, told ZEITGUIDE that even as companies blow out their walls, they have to be mindful that they aren’t sacrificing individual focus on the altar of collaboration. “High performance exists in a space that’s balanced and provides a number of different kinds of alternative spaces for different types of work. One still needs privacy to make phone calls or dial into a video conference. We’re even building ‘maker spaces’ where our clients can experiment with different materials or test new products.”