Many people can’t wait to return to the office and work side-by-side with their colleagues again and organizations are taking every precaution to make sure workplaces are safe when people do come back. But what if these precautionary measures make the office interiors feel sad and even more isolating than working from home? Below are a few things organizations should consider when introducing a hybrid work style to their offices.
An Office Café
Can you have culture without coffee? You might be able to bring people together virtually to work on a problem, but you don’t get people bumping into each other, coming across diverse perspectives or walking around and seeing what’s going on in another meeting. With that in mind, Cafés are spaces that often sit empty most of the day because they are typically used just for dining, individual work or small meetings. By looking at underutilized spaces in new ways, cafes can be redesigned as social hubs that will inspire people and provide high-performing settings where they can reconnect with their colleagues, as well as collaborate effectively.
Office Café
Braid The Digital And Physical Experience
There are three key factors to consider when creating a space: Equity, Engagement, and Ease.
Equity: How do we make this a great experience for people in the room and for people who are remote? Mobility is the key. People in the room should be able to move around while they take their screens with them. Angled conference tables help remote team members see everyone while those in the room can also see the screen.
Engagement: How can our space help us engage with one another? Movement increases brain activity so physically using tools like whiteboards or digital tools make it easier to co-create from afar.
Ease: How do you make space and technology easy to work with? You should be able to walk in and join a session as simply as possible.
Hybrid Digital Conference Room: Microsoft Surface Hub
Setting Guardrails
Organizations should set clear expectations moving forward. While they must acknowledge the autonomy and flexibility employees are looking for, they also must set some guardrails. Too much choice can be overwhelming and stifling. Organizations should set parameters around hybrid work expectations and consider creating social contracts with their employees.
Safe & Connected
Culture, innovation and growth are exactly the things leaders globally are worried about. That’s why contrary to what we read a year ago about the office going away, the opposite has actually happened. Whether or not our future workplace is bigger, the same size or smaller, or is made up of an ecosystem that includes home, the places where we come together matter more now than they ever did because we have a year to make up for.
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“Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.” -Robert L. Peters
As we have learned over the last year and a half, the spaces we live in matter. They matter to our productivity, our creativity, and overall, to our wellbeing. We have learned that things like color, ergonomics, and flexibility are essential to helping us be successful. At OEC, we asked four designers from different firms to tell us what they are doing to create spaces that inspire, whether that be encouraging people to return to work with confidence or striving toward personal transformation.
Jordan Yankovich | KovichCo Interiors
Digging A Deep Well
At KovichCo Interiors, inspiration has always been at the heart of the business. Led by its principal, Jordan Yankovich, the 4-and-a-half-year-old firm has skyrocketed in popularity through its various commercial and residential projects. “Inspiration is something that we really take to heart. It is a part of our process, and we never neglect it no matter what the project is.” But in a world of recycling and regurgitation, finding real inspiration is difficult. Because Jordan tries not to repeat herself, except for the occasional mohair, she has to foster a creative spirit. “As designers, you want to be inspired all the time, so one of our mantras here is to be continually digging a deeper well that you have to draw on when you meet a client. Curiosity is one of our core cultural values, so everyone is expected to go down rabbit holes and share things with the team.” Recently those rabbit holes have come to include anything from design books to Antiques Roadshows.
For KovichCo, the idea of trends does not even register. Instead, they find inspiration by working very closely with their clients to discover what they need to accomplish in the space. “I love building the concept and reaching into the depths. I’ve pulled poetry out of clients or pictures, and they’ll have this look of, ‘Aren’t you going to pick carpet?’” By diving deep into what their clients want, KovichCo can create a more robust vision that appeals to all the senses. In some cases, they will even reselect a chair before they change a fabric. “Textiles are incredibly important both in color and pattern stories, and getting that tactile feel is really important because you want to hit people in all senses. I also believe strongly in the emotional side, not just functionality. I want to know what the space is doing for me emotionally.” While KovichCo may not be the perfect designer for everyone, they certainly are fun, thanks to one of Jordan’s important policies. “If it scares you a little bit, go for it.”
Megumi Haus | CSHQA
Colors That Inspire
Similar to KovichCo, Megumi Haus at CSHQA also starts with the vision of the client. Because CSHQA has a diverse portfolio with everything from government, aviation, and hospitality, to retail and office, beginning with a substantial client vision is extremely helpful. “Discovering what the client wants is definitely a great place to start. Then it is our job to guide them and give them other options.” However, if left to her own devices, Megumi prefers to pull inspiration from nature by using muted, neutral colors with a bit of color popping throughout. “I tell people; you don’t see a huge orange field in nature. When you walk in the park, you’ll see browns and grays and a little bit of green. So, I try to give a nice neutral palette that they can accessorize.”
Jordan McKnight | Kieffer Design Group
Themes That Inspire
Jordyn McKnight from Kieffer Design Group (KDG) designs mainly hotels with some commercial and multifamily projects. With the hospitality industry taking a big hit this past year, creating spaces that inspire people to travel is top of mind for the firm. For one of their recent projects in downtown Boise, they pulled inspiration from the surrounding foothills. “With the foothills in the background, we took this idea of home and incorporated the colors of the foothills, which are pops of blues and indigo.” One of the exciting ways the firm achieved a homey feel was by creating a wall of recycled leather belts. The belt wall is unique in that it immediately puts guests at ease. From there, creating the rest of that feel comes down to spatial layout. “If you design something well, it makes people want to go to that space. Giving them an opportunity to decide if they want to sit in a grouping of four where they can be social, or by themselves helps them feel like they are a part of something.”
Catie Buck | Babcock Design Group
Furnishings That Inspire
For Catie Buck at Babcock Design Group, she likes to push clients a little bit out of their comfort zone. “I feel like pushing the envelope amplifies the customization of the space for the client.” Starting with the client’s branding and culture as a foundation, Catie plays with color, texture, and lighting to create an inspirational space. “If there is one thing I could push as a designer, it would be lighting and chairs. They need to make a statement while being comfortable and functional. For me, furniture is like the icing on the cake.”
These designers all have something in common. They are being invited to design in workplaces and homes like never before. People are beginning to realize that designers provide a holistic approach that fosters community and, if they are lucky, leave them inspired.
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In 1935, a black blizzard descended on Washington D.C. It happened just as Hugh Bennett, the Director of the Soil Erosion Service was testifying before Congress. He was testifying about the need to continue funding the program. As the dust cloud enveloped the city, Congress saw first-hand the importance of implementing the Soil Conservation Act. The aftermath of the Dust Bowl that ravaged the Great Plains in the 1930s has had lasting effects today. One of those effects includes the creation of nearly 3,000 conservation districts nationwide.
These districts operate under state law as non-regulatory, non-enforcement entities that help farmers and landowners make decisions about how to best utilize their natural resources. So why the history lesson on the Dust Bowl from an office furniture company? Because everyone needs the right furniture to effectively do their job, especially the Spokane Conservation District (SCD). Authorized in 1941 to operate in Spokane, the SCD is celebrating its 80th birthday with the addition of a beautiful 12,350 s.f. building on its new 50-acre lot in the heart of Spokane Valley.
Spokane Conservation District Rendering
Reclaiming The Land
Their new location is a 50-acre parcel of land that is a sanctuary among numerous housing, urban, and industrial developments. Vicky Carter, the director of the SCD, came across the land by chance and could not get over it. In its former life, the land was a rock quarry and gravel mine as well as an asphalt batch plant that made and hauled asphalt. The community absolutely hated it because of the smell, noise, and traffic. So, the company eventually left, and Vicky found it.
“It certainly has its history and scars from its former life. But with all of that, I find great beauty, because we’re a conservation office and we can reclaim that and bring it back to something beautiful and important again. All the while we are honoring what it was and how it provided for us as a community. So, I don’t look at it as this ugly place. Rather it is an opportunity to do some of our best work. I really feel like this building exemplifies that. It is unique to this site and this setting shows the integrity of us as an organization, of the hard-working landowners we work with, and the kind of communication and relationship that we have.”
Projects & Mission of The Spokane Conservation District
At the SCD, their work covers everything from the backyard to the back 40 and beyond. Because they are non-regulatory, they often act as the liaison between the landowner and an enforcement agency by connecting landowners with resources that are available to them. The SCD has a variety of projects it works on from dealing with erosion in nearby lakes, to growing trees. Their mission is to provide viable solutions to problems that are economically feasible for landowners to implement.
In their old building, fulfilling their mission was becoming impossible. They had run out of space to store their equipment including trucks, trailers, and tractors. With no way to expand, the new property came up at the perfect time. The 50-acre campus is a 10-year project that has been broken into 5 phases. With one existing building on the lot, the Spokane Conservation District quickly planned out the rest of the space. They kicked off the construction of their new building with Kilgore Construction in May of 2020 and opened in March 2021.
Designed by Integrus Architecture PS, of Spokane, and AHBL Inc. the building has an agrarian, almost barn-like feel to its exterior. Inside, there is a lot of reclaimed wood used to reflect the rural farms that are historically scattered throughout the region. Additionally, the building incorporates rock that was existing on the site. It is also completely energy efficient. It utilizes the placement of windows in relation to the sun to maximize natural heating and cooling.
“This building really tells the story of the SCD and we are excited about what we can offer to the community.” Through demonstrations on the property, the SCD can show every aspect of who they are in terms of programming, and the projects and resources they have available.
Vets On The Farm
One of the projects Vicky is most proud of is their program called “Vets on the Farm”. This program was created five years ago to help veterans transition into civilian life while also addressing the dwindling number of farmers in the U.S. These veterans are often looking for their next mission so the SCD provides them with training opportunities to become farmers. The program has been wildly successful because the veteran community is so strong. Since it started, the program has brought hundreds of veterans into the fold. The conservation district and is changing lives in a very positive way.
Vicky Carter | SCD Director
“For the 30 years that I’ve been here, I’ve watched these incredible projects and people meld together, and it has really been one of the most rewarding things I think I could have ever chosen or done as a career.” -Vicky Carter
The new building supports planning programs like “Vets on the Farm” with its extensive amount of collaboration space. With plenty of natural light from every vantage point throughout the entire building, meeting rooms are large and welcoming. “When things are beautiful, you feel good. The collaboration spaces are where we have a lot of the OEC furniture, that, and the multipurpose room. We wanted it to be comfortable, specifically our meeting room chairs where you could be sitting for six hours or with height adjustable desks at the workstations. We wanted to let people choose how they wanted to work. Based on how they were feeling that day, we have four to five different seating choices that are beautiful.”
Looking Ahead
The next phase of the development plan will be building a regional conference center that can host 50-200 people. Because a lot of businesses are decreasing their office space due to Covid, Vicky sees an opportunity to help fund the SCD by renting out their space for company get togethers. Downsizing is great until you need to bring all your staff together and your building no longer has the capacity.
Collaborative Space
For now, the SCD is looking forward to settling into its new space, developing their land with public nature trails, and continuing to help the landowners in the surrounding counties. None of it would be possible without the help of the incredible staff at SCD. “Our whole staff played a part in getting that building built. Whether it was literally sitting on a font-end loader moving 13,000 cubic yards of asphalt or something else, my staff busted their butts. So, every single person has a sense of ownership and pride over there.” When it comes to their line of work, those are exactly the kind of people that will help make the farmers and landowners of the Spokane area successful. The days of the dust bowl and long gone. Meanwhile, the excellent work the SCD is doing will make sure it stays that way.
