How Solid Geometry Is Changing Office Interiors

At Oaktree Interiors, we are an office refurbishment company that endeavours to work closely with our clients, as every step of our plan is designed to suit their needs. We listen closely to what they have to say and undertake no aspect of the project without first sealing approval from them. We find that this method always makes for a better-designed, bespoke office space.

Clocking up 30 years of experience has presented us with a great insight into the changing trends of office interiors. One new trend in terms of design is geometric design.

What is geometric design?

To put it simply, applying geometrics to an office design is a way of thinking that will allow for any future developments to take place (such as increasing the amount of employees etc) without the need to 'rip everything up and start again'. This will hand you a long-term, cost-effective solution to the workplace. A solution that will eventually work to help to improve productivity, as well as the mood of your staff and clients alike.

Geometrics: A History

To fully-understand the role of geometry and its impact in designing our office interiors, we can look all the way back to the 18th Century for some answers. By this point in time it was becoming more-and-more obvious that overpopulation was something that humans would need to address, for the first time ever. Advances in technology and the rapid growth of the population, had created a challenge for governments who wanted the growth in population to slow.

In 1798, a book named 'An Essay on the Principle of Population' by Thomas Malthus was published and immediately influenced much of the society at the time. Charles Darwin was influenced by its teachings, even 60 years later when he wrote 'Origin of Species'. The book gave birth to the term 'Malthusian', which describes a central paradox laid out in the text. The paradox suggests that because the population had increased geometrically (doubling every 25 years or so by multiplication), whilst food production only grew arithmetically (addition). The result will only mean low wages and starvation, simply because there isn't enough of everything to go around.

Despite the book being extremely influential, Malthus had made a basic error in his reasoning – he had overlooked the ability of humans prevailing over these challenges by developing new ideas and technologies to overcome them. Malthus had assumed that the future would be an extension of what his world was like, rather than it growing and moving on through new ideas. A gamechanger in the efforts to grow production, the Industrial Revolution, which still wasn't running to full capacity at the time Malthus had written his book, grew and expanded, creating jobs, wealth and helped to farm food and design dwellings like never before. Today, we perhaps worry about there being too much food where we live – as the population continues to grow and expand.

Although he turned out to be incorrect with his doom-laden predictions – we shouldn't be too hard on Malthus – after all, the way in which we design office spaces uses the Malthusian paradox! In the past, it's always been easy to equate levels of employment with the amount of office space available, as bothhave grown arithmetically (addition) in parallel with each other. This basic equation will read; if you employ X number of new people, you will need X amount of extra space in order to accommodate them. This way of thinking is pointed out in the latest version of the British Council for Office Specification Guide, as perhaps 'too linear'. In this version, the BCO set out guidelines for the amount of space needed to be allocated for each workspace, which can be somewhere in the range of 8-13sm per space.

The BCO have acknowledged during the publication of the Guide that being linear shouldn't be the main aim for office owners. “ There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach and the guide includes invaluable advice for occupiers and the latest thinking on how to make the most of offices ", says BCO chief executive, Richard Kauntze. He continued, “Property is a significant expense for businesses, but if it is understood properly and used efficiently, it is a resource that can be optimised to deliver real benefits in employee performance through increased productivity and wellbeing."

Basically, he is acknowledging that we are seeing a new era for office design, not the continuation of what has gone before. The main idea behind this new movement is that the office sheds the old linearity that applies to an arithmetical equation that only links the amount of people to the amount of space. This is an inflexible way of looking at space – a way that doesn't lend itself well to the agility that's demanded of modern organisations. Instead, the implementation of geometric design is based on a far more complex set of variables. It symbolises that the future of office design isn't going to be a continuation of what has been done in the past, but requires a more flexible way of thinking, something that shifts our perceptions. In short, something that is more apt and customised towards you and your brand.

Oaktree – designing quality office interiors for over 20 years!

We have a long and varied experience in carrying out refurbishments of office interiors as well as relocations for businesses of all sizes. Using the very latest in geometric techniques, we are able to design a model of your office and show how the design you may have in mind, can be able to be put into place. The implementation of geometrics will help to get the best out of your office space. Similarly, the overall design will contribute to improving the mood and productivity in the office.

To find out how we can put in place an effective office refurbishment plan, transforming your interiors and providing a smooth and effective transition that will cause the minimum upheaval for your company, please don't hesitate to give us a call on 0345 2186955. Alternatively, you can send us an email at hello@oaktreeoffice.com

How Solid Geometry Is Changing Office Interiors

What is geometric design?

Geometrics: A History

Oaktree – designing quality office interiors for over 20 years!

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