Every office concept must meet different requirements. It should be functional and cost-effective at the same time. In addition, employees should feel comfortable all around in order to work particularly productively. There are a number of different options available for this.

Room size, furnishings and equipment play an important role in creating a suitable concept for an office space. Basically, the working environment should motivate and inspire the employees. To achieve this, experts are required to combine the requirements of the respective company in a successful concept.

Comprehensive examination of requirements

Before a suitable office concept can even be created, a comprehensive analysis of all requirements is necessary. Every company works differently and has different requirements for its office landscape simply because of the prevailing corporate structures. In addition to numerous other factors, the size of the individual teams, the nature of the respective activities and the working hours play an important role in creating the new office concept.

The big goal is clearly defined. Employees must feel comfortable at their workstations in order to be able to work particularly productively. Individuality also plays an important role here. The way the individual works should therefore definitely be taken into account.

Cellular office vs. open-plan office 

The so-called cellular office is considered a classic among office concepts. Here, a maximum of four people work in one room. Each person has a fixed workstation, which they can design according to their own wishes. Extra rooms are available in the company for meetings. Such a variant is ideal above all for activities that have to be carried out under the highest level of concentration. The biggest advantage is certainly the low noise level, which hardly distracts from work. However, in this case, more space per employee must be calculated than in an open-plan office.

This is particularly suitable for activities that require short communication paths within the teams. The proximity also allows employees to exchange technical information and thus improve their work results. There is a higher noise level here, but the space required per employee is significantly less than in a cubicle office.

In so-called combi-offices, the characteristics of cellular and open-plan offices are cleverly combined. Here, the workstations are laid out in such a way that they correspond to the tasks of the individual employees. With the help of simple room dividers, it is possible to visually separate different areas from one another. Nevertheless, short communication channels are provided to enable the exchange of knowledge and coordination within different projects. Individual sections are defined as telephone booths, others as conference zones or meeting points.

Multi-space solutions offer another option. These can be used absolutely flexibly by employees. With such a concept, different workplaces, retreats and open spaces are created to offer each employee the ideal workplace. However, there are no fixed workstations here. These can change daily, depending on the project phase. The multi-space solutions are intended to offer more room to work more creatively and even more productively. The exchange of ideas among employees is the focus here. This office concept scores particularly well with agile working models that include flexible working hours.

Flexible concepts for long-term planning

When developing the ideal office concept, the available space must be used optimally. Thanks to innovative design options, highly individual concepts are possible here. At the same time, a certain degree of flexibility should be ensured, as requirements can change over time. Larger teams, new types of projects and changes within the company structures can make a quick redesign necessary.

According to the so-called team office principle, a holistic solution can be created that focuses on the employees’ point of view. Their point of view is decisive for the complete design of the office areas. Employees should feel comfortable and be supported in their individual working methods. The areas are set up in such a way that the community among the employees is supported and encouraged. This also succeeds in increasing the team’s overall creativity and thus its productivity. Short communication channels must be created here, as well as the opportunity to work in a highly concentrated manner.

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