How To Design An Office With Office Partitioning - By: Kathryn Dawson

If you are involved in any way with office design or layout but don't know very much about it then you have come to the right place. This article covers all the considerations to make when deciding on the layout of a currently open plan office. Read on to find out more...

The first thing to consider when designing an office is where the entrance is and whether or not an entrance lobby is required. If the office regularly receives visitors or clients then the chances are good you may require a reception desk. You may also require a waiting area - this doesn't need to be anything more than a couple of chairs and small coffee table. The next thing to think about is the communal area. All offices are required to have some kind of kitchen area with cooking facilities. You are likely to have a kettle too and a fridge of some kind. If there is not already a kitchen installed in your office area then you will need to take steps to get one.

As well as a kitchen you may want a staff room or some kind of room where employees can take their breaks and eat their lunch. This can be just a small room with a few chairs in it, or you may decide it is not necessary. Having a good working environment is important, and that means your employees need to be looked after well. In this day and age when office workers can be at risk of conditions such as repetitive strain injury, regular breaks should be encouraged and eating lunch at desks should not be. Having a staff room encourages good communication between staff and also enables them to have a place to eat their lunch and take a proper lunch break which avoids problems such as RSI and stress.

Having at least one meeting room is likely to be a very important part of the office design. Depending on what the organisation does and how big the meetings are likely to be will depend on the size of the room. This should be drawn into the initial design because not thinking about it could leave you without the space for an appropriately sized meeting room. The CEO or director of the company may require their own office, as might some of the senior management team. Find out early on what the plans are for individual offices and make sure these are included in the design.

The rest of the space will be allocated to desks for the staff. Having a completely open area for employees is not always the best idea as distractions can be too great. It is a good idea to a few offices with more than one desk in. You could have one for the finance department and one for the sales team for example. Having one office per member of staff is not always practical, but having a few desks per room can work well. Smaller spaces like this are easier to light and heat too and the departments are clearly seen.

Having good quality office partitioning is the best way to divide up the office into separate offices. It is cost effective, easy to install and extremely robust. If you choose wisely you can ensure the partitioning you use can be taken down and installed somewhere else at a later date. That way if the layout of the office is to change, the partitioning is not wasted but instead reused.

When designing an office, think how the office partitioning can be used to create the best and most productive work environment possible. Always choose demountable partitioning or glass screens so that at a future time the offices can be altered and changed as necessary. If you follow the above advice then you will end up with a practical and attractive office.

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson writes articles for Applied Workplace, suppliers of office partition systems, also referred to as office partitioning, glass screens and room dividers. They offer ultra fast installation, good acoustic properties and easily relocated demountable partitioning and walls.

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