The functional office: making an office as comfortable as the home: clients are often impressed when they enter a luxurious office. Well-designed offices create an image that the company is doing well. Good office design must not merely be pleasant to look at, it must be comfortable for the employees who spend most of their waking hours at their desks

Today's Manager, Dec-Jan, 2008 by Tan Chee Teik

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THE OFFICE environment affects people enough to increase their productivity. Because we spend more than 10 hours a day in the office, it needs to be comfortable. If possible, the majority of workers should have a window view.

When visiting clients who are fortunate enough to be located in skyscrapers along Shenton Way, I often envied the marvellous view they have of the waterfront and the cityscape. What I fail to understand is that invariably their desks are positioned in such a way that they have their backs to the windows. Perhaps they are so burdened with work that they have little time to enjoy the vista or they want to face the door in case the boss spies on them.

A poor level of satisfaction with the workplace and low morale that results often leads to a greater amount of job-hopping. Research has shown that such dissatisfaction often results in increased absenteeism that affects performance.

The office ambiance should provide impetus for task motivation. It should not be too distractive so that work is the last thing on one's mind. Neither should it be as sombre as an undertaker's office.

The workstations should be adjustable to suit each worker's preferences. Some workers who are left-handed would appreciate this. Heights of desks and chairs must be adjustable as the wrong heights can lead to backaches and poor posture. Some people are particular about the direction they face when seated because of good geomancy. It would be wonderful if each worker can orientate his desk to the most lucky direction rather than aligned in straight rows as in a cemetery.

As rents go up, the space of work areas is reduced proportionately. The design of the workstations should give each individual a sense of personal control over the environment.

Employees should be allowed to express themselves perhaps in the form of a family photo, a daily dose of fresh flowers, or special decorative stationery as long as they do not encroach on the neighbouring workspace. I know of bosses who frown on the display of personal photographs at the workstation as they feel that the office is the place for work and there should be no family distractions.

Modern workstations come with hidden panels for all the ugly wiring of the info-communication equipment.

From the health point of view, workers expect offices to be air conditioned but not so cold that they have to wear winter clothing all day. A reasonable temperature is from 24 to 26 degrees Celsius.

From Warehouse to Office

After 10 years in Singapore, advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) Asia-Pacific outgrew its premises on Duxton Hill. To cater to a team of 75 people, it changed a 1,000 squaremetre warehouse at Magazine Road next to the Singapore River into comfortable and modern workspace.

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BBH managing director John Hadfield is very proud of the new office, her says: "Whereas in our previous office we were split by levels, rooms, and even buildings, the new office space is more conducive to team building, as we all share the same space, and can interact more freely.

"We wanted to ensure that the space didn't define status. The senior management team sits side by side the juniors (we have no private offices), which suits our culture and makes a refreshing change for many of our new employees. Ultimately, we have created an office that I hope inspires the whole team, not just particular individuals."

While retaining the historic ensemble of red brick walls, solid timber floors and an exposed steel truss structural system, the designer has veered away from the typical use of offices and cubicles to create a 100-seat set-up on the open office floor. By creating a sense of immense space, the open-style seating plan facilitates maximum interaction and forms the focal point of the office.

The spatial element of the open office floor is reached via a tunnel-like walkway decked out in signature BBH red. This is complemented by the natural sunlight that enters through the large windows scattered around the office.

Overlooking the office floor are purposefully built hot rooms, creative spaces housed in two mezzanine lofts. These calm rooms provide a conducive environment to inspire creativity. Private discussions can also be conducted in freestanding "pods" interspersed throughout the open office floor. At the far end of the office floor stands a library lounge that houses a wealth of resources for the agency.

On the inspirations that make the design of the BBH corporate headquarters into a creative environment, Hadfield says: " It feels very liberating to have created an open-style seating plan with no offices, and to have the entire team on one floor working on large work benches. This also fulfils our need to work in diverse teams.

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"We have come up with an original response to the typical Agency conundrum 'should the creative department sit in offices or on the floor?' by having a number of private spaces 'upstairs'. These attics allow the creative teams a private space to think, if and when they need it. But the creatives are not cut off from the rest of the agency or their teams day to day as they are still based on the main floor. Ultimately, the space is a beautiful piece of functional design and an inspiring place to be. Somewhere, you'd be happy to spend a great deal of time."