At Giant Leap we believe that in order to create a successful office space, you need to understand people and the way they want to work. It isn’t just about where a desk fits best.
So we read many books, travelled around the world, studied many office spaces and their current way of working to develop a fun and inspiring way of working. We developed what we phrase the “Interconnected Workplace”. Its about having an office that can cope with the pace of globalisation.
Work has characteristically been a person working 8-5 at a dedicated work station. Meeting in a meeting room and eating in a canteen. Today people who are ahead of the curve are starting to see the office in a completely different light. It is a space that allows people to work according to their own needs and the generation gap that they fit into. What we term as the Interconnected workplace.
The modern office is planned around different zones not just workstations and meeting rooms. It is funky it’s out there and it fits in with a companies needs and requirements.
Giant Leap has launched what they term 3rd based places. These are areas specifically designed to meet individual needs, but for use by anyone without having to book them beforehand. They are for work, but so that you don’t feel you are at work. They can be for a multitude of reasons and are usually fun, funky and make your office “cool”. They allow people to work in different zones in an office environment, encouraging people to walk around the office and communicate with other individuals. The more social interaction at work the more people create. Communication usually brings out the best ideas in people.
A workplace not only needs to add in fun ideas, but also needs to meet the global challenges that one is faced with today. Companies are cutting down on costs, trying to cut down on global footprints, so video conferencing and skype are becoming huge. How though do you Skype in an open plan office space? Giant Leap has introduced the phone booth. It is a place for quiet among the busy space. Add lots of fun and funk to an office space. They come in different shapes, colours and forms. Not only are they fun but also offer a great looking and acoustical solution to office space, where people are provided with short spates of privacy and quite. Great for a quick skype call, great for a personal call or to chat with your bank manager. They can also double up as quiet spaces to read through a contract or do work that requires some alone time.
Fun + Funk + function = a productive office.
Fun is different for each individual which is why many 3rd place designs are made to be flexible. The Igloo recently launched by Giant Leap is light weight and easy to move around an office. It allows people to use it as they feel necessary, to create an informal office area, an enclosure to read the paper, or even create an area around the photocopy machine. The individual and their team are in control of their own office space. They can be done in any fabric even customised to match or work with the branding of a company. Brand is a critical driver to an organization’s success. And space can help foster the type of culture that fits the brand. Space gives permission to behave differently – to live the company culture. The workplace can be used to communicate what the company believes to an internal and external audience
These workspaces not only support but workspaces of today but take into account the changing needs of tomorrow.
Gone are the days of only having formal meeting areas. People want to collaborate, meet informally, sit at different height meeting tables. Informal high bar like meeting tables allow for people to have creative meetings. The pressure is off and they immediately ease up, the feeling they would have if they were in a bar.
We found that if you allow people to work to their strengths, you create an environment that enhances productivity, increases flexibility and encourages interaction. It also reduces cost by reducing office square meters, being energy efficient, recycle and become paper free.
Cool, fun and inspiring allows an office to be different, a place where people want to work!
