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Category: Partitioning

Acoustics in Offices

Many modern offices are designed using an open plan layout and for good reason, as this type of space is ideal for building staff relationships, collaborating on projects and making all staff approachable.

However, with the considerable size of some open plan offices, the noise within these spaces can reverberate across the workplace, creating a distracting environment to try to work in.

Using our experience in office design, we are keen to share the ways in which we believe you can reduce the noise pollution within your office.

How can Carpet Tiles help?

Have you ever been sat at your desk and been distracted by the noise pollution from a colleague putting their cup down or being drawn into a conversation that is being had on the far side of the office?

This transfer of sound can be reduced by the installation of carpet tiles with an acoustic backing. This backing material can dramatically reduce the distance that sound waves travel throughout the open plan space, making them an ideal product to use within your office to improve the working environment of staff and colleagues.

A benefit of using carpet tiles is that they are also a fantastic way of incorporating colour and design into your work space.

Our suppliers have various products with different specifications, which can be used in different areas throughout your office facility.

Protecting the Ceiling…

Many offices have suspended ceilings, which in themselves will not stop too much noise from travelling throughout offices. There are a few things you can do, depending on your budget, to reduce the noise within larger spaces with suspended ceilings.

Firstly, a cost effective solution to reducing the movement of ‘room to room’ sound and the reverberation of noises in the office below, is the installation of polythene encased pads above the ceiling. These pads are the same size as a ceiling tile and simply lay on top of them. This product can be installed easily and the encased product ensures no loose fibres are left above the ceiling.

A more involved option is to add acoustic panels below the suspended ceiling. Not only does this offer better acoustic performance within an office, it also offers aesthetic opportunities, as these panels are visible from the office below. These panels come in different shapes and colours; and can even have artwork printed on them. This ensures they not only fit into your office space seamlessly, but they can also add an additional layer of design into your workplace. These acoustic panels can also be used on both walls and ceilings.

Screening and its attributes

We all need desks to work from, so another effective way to enhance acoustic protection is to add screens to our desks. These screens are a good way of breaking up the open space and creating more private spaces. As with other acoustic solutions, screens come in different shapes and colours, so can be used to accentuate a particular design, for branding or used to zone areas within your office.

What is booth seating?

In addition to free-standing screens, booth seating can be used within open plan offices to break up the space, offer breakout areas and informal meeting spaces. Used to good effect, you can create a welcoming and well-designed working environment, for staff and visitors alike, while not distracting or being distracted.

Phone booths in offices….

Not all works paces have ample space for large meeting rooms, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy areas within your open plan office where you can get aware from the noise of the office and have a private conversation.

We are seeing a rise in the popularity of ‘Phone Booths’ within office design, as these are relatively small pods or meeting rooms, made from acoustic material and are fully demountable and relocatable.

Our team of experts are capable of designing a system for your office, to assist in improving your working environment. They would welcome the opportunity to discuss your requirements, so please contact us today!

Setting the Boundaries – Effective Office Partitioning

Discover the secrets to mastering office partitioning from office experts, Meridian Interiors Ltd

Not all offices will be built in line with your company’s departments, teams and functions. Fit the space around your business with office partitioning. These cost effective walls can be quickly deployed to create an organisational layout that suits your needs.

Use this quick guide to assess what types of partitioning is best for your workplace to help maximise efficiency, reduce noise between departments and generally provide a non-disruptive flow of foot traffic around the operational areas.

Stud

This is the most basic type of partitioning, consisting of a poly-plastic or metal frame, secured to the floor. This forms a skeleton structure that is subsequently covered with panels to create physical partitions. Plasterboard is typical used in the construction of these partitions.

Glass

Glass partitions are like stud partitions, however instead of solid, opaque panels, glass sheets are added to the structure, creating transparent barriers. This type of partitioning is especially useful when an area of a workspace suffers from a lack of natural light. Glass can be double glazed to create insulation or frosted with the company logo.

Temporary Partitions

Extending curtains or concertina partitions are one way of creating a temporary barrier between different areas of your workspace. This type of partitioning is often found in hotels or conference rooms, allowing the business owners to scale the space in accordance with client’s demands.

Timber Partitions

Timber partitions use an all wooden construction, from the structural supports through to the panels. Creating an elegant and classic profile, timber partitions, particularly those made from hardwood are a stylish alternative to conventional stud systems.

Cubicles

Smaller, individual partitions are available to mark out individual booths or working areas in open plan offices. This type of divider allows for employees to control their immediate working environment, whilst also promoting communication and collaboration through members of the team.

Creating Functional Areas in the Business

The principle reason for partitioning is to delineate space within the office or workplace environment into rooms and sections for various purposes. Separating each individual area promotes a focus on specific business activities, allowing a more ordered and structured organisational framework. Some of the more common uses include:

Sales floor

If you have a busy outbound calling floor this can often create quite a large amount of noise, commotion and energy. Whilst this is great for the salespeople, this can prove disruptive to other functions in the business and partitions can dramatically reduce this issue.

Executive office

Partitioning can allow individual spaces to be created for company directors, offering a degree of privacy for important calls and operational discussions with the business leaders.

Boardroom

Every large business needs a boardroom. Even though such rooms often now function as meeting rooms for different teams and important client presentations, the large table, set seats and chairs create a sense of purpose and presence.

Reception area

Keep clients separate from the functional areas of your business with a designated reception area. Here they can drink coffee and wait for taxis to pick them up following meetings without having to leave the building.

Department location

If your business is large enough to have dedicated departments, then partitions will allow all the members of each individual team to congregate in a set area. Customer service, IT support, finance and HR can all be given their own domain, promoting team cohesion and understanding.

How to Choose the Right Design and Fit Out Partner

When the time comes to choose a fit-out partner for your office refurbishment or redevelopment project, where do you start?

If you type the words ‘design and fit-out company in the UK’ into Google, you’ll have more than 75 million hits in less than a second. So when the time comes to choose a fit-out partner for your own office refurbishment or redevelopment project, where do you start? Meridian Interiors has this advice for companies that want to source the right partner every time.

No matter how small or vast the project in question, when you are choosing a fit-out partner you will need to know the answers to three basic but critically important questions.

Can they do it?

The first thing to consider is the company’s capability and expertise. Are they big enough to cope? Do they have the resources in place to tackle any particular technical challenges?

Will they do it well?

If they could undertake your project in theory, how might they perform in practice? Do they have the financial and corporate integrity required to complete the job to the right standard, on time and to the agreed budget?

Can I trust them?

In the fit-out world, mistakes can be very costly. If the answers to 1) and 2) are yes and yes, it’s time to make doubly sure by conducting a thorough check of the company’s credentials.

Here’s our 7 Step Guide to check you’re choosing the right partner:

1. Define your requirements

Firstly – what do you want your fit-out partner to do?

Are you looking for a simple refurbishment of your current premises, or a complete redesign? Is this for a small office, or an entire building? Do you need more space? And if so, does that space need new plumbing, heating, air conditioning, telecoms, IT? Will you need to relocate a few people, or a few hundred people, while the work is carried out? Once you have outlined the scope of your project you are ready to begin the hunt for the perfect fit-out partner.

2. Draw up a long list

If you’re starting from scratch, with no past suppliers to call or recommendations to explore, a quick Internet search should identify dozens of fit-out companies that operate in your area, with websites testifying to their prowess and experience. Reviewing and comparing their claims and client lists will give you a rough idea whether they could tackle a project like yours. Given that you will need to investigate each one of the companies on your long list in more depth, it is worth limiting your efforts to five or six that seem to meet your requirements best – on paper at least.

Once you have a long list prepared, start looking into each company a bit further and reducing your selection to a shortlist of three or four that you would like to meet face to face.

3. Who and how will you decide

Before you call the different companies in to pitch for your business, decide up front how you will evaluate the contenders.

Consider every angle: There will be many different factors to consider, so your interview panel or steering committee must have the ability to question the presenters on all aspects of the job. This includes the design and planning, cost, timelines, IT requirements, infrastructure changes, project management and impact on the day-to-day business.

Seek independent advice: If you don’t have this level of know-how in house, you can recruit a third party consultant to help you with the selection process at the very least. (if your project is substantial you may be wise to employ an independent project manager too).

Don’t repent at leisure: Even if one company seems to stand out from the start, don’t rush in to making a commitment as an easy win may cause the successful party to become complacent. The harder a company has to work for your business, the more they will value it.

4. Assess their capability & expertise

Each design and fit out company will send along a ‘pitch team’ to bid for your business. The make-up of the team will tell you a lot about the company and how it’s organised. For example, most teams will include a project leader and a senior designer and possibly a pre-construction manager. Other various experts may also be brought along to explain how they would manage some of the technical aspects of the project (IT specialists, for example).

The team will work together to excite your interest with striking representations of their ideas for your project with 3D visuals. Don’t get swept away by the design alone – it’s your job to dig deeper and question how this work will be carried out, when, and by whom.

Make sure you ask:

  • Will the pitch team be involved in delivering the project?
  • Have they worked together on other projects?
  • Will they be using freelancers or third party consultants at any stage? If so, which services are they outsourcing? How will they manage the project to ensure your business remains a priority to everyone involved?
  • Are they pitching for other business that will run alongside your project? Could your timeframes be compromised as a result?
  • Can they guarantee the designs you are being shown are priced up and within your budget? Has anything been slipped in for added impact?
  • Will the people who have prepared the specification and costs you are seeing be the ones managing the build phase?
  • Would they arrange for you to see one of their finished projects, or one they have in progress?

5. Do the due diligence

Even the smallest office fit-out will involve a significant sum of money, so you need to be sure that your investment is safe. Don’t take their word for it. Check for yourself that any company you may choose to appoint is financially stable.

Find out:

  • Is the company’s turnover and cash position sufficient to support the size of the project?
  • Are they creditworthy and able to negotiate better prices (for materials, furniture etc) on your behalf?
  • Do they have appropriate insurance in place and at a suitable level for your project (employers liability insurance, public and product liability insurance, contracts all risk insurance)?
  • Do they have an excellent health and safety record?
  • Do they manage all aspects of their work in an environmentally sustainable way – or will your own green credentials be at risk if you appoint them?
  • Would they agree to a financial penalty for late completion, or take out a performance bond as a guarantee that they will deliver on their promise?

6. Check credentials

Before you appoint any company to work for you, look and see how well they have done for others. The pitch presentation is likely to include photos of completed projects and quotes from happy customers. So ask to speak to a few of the customers directly. It’s the best way to find out what went on behind the scenes – and how they dealt with any challenges they faced along the way.

Look for:

  • Names you recognise and repeat customers on their client list.
  • Any recognised accreditations that indicate how they manage their business, such as the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management mark, or BREEAM® eco-friendly compliance.
  • Construction or design related awards or nominations for past work.

7. Draw up the contract

You’ve chosen a fit-out company based on what you believe they can deliver. Now it’s time to put it in writing.

  • Make sure all of your expectations are documented along with the timeframes and costs involved.
  • Add in the penalties they can expect to incur should any aspect of the project fall below the stated standards.
  • Ask them to sign on the bottom line!

Great, you’ve just appointed your perfect fit-out partner and can look forward to the finished result.

Why You Should Consider Partitioning as Part of Your Office Fit Out

Most businesses decide at some point that they need to consider an office fit out. It could be that you are moving to new premises or perhaps your office just needs updating. Regardless of the reasons behind it an office fit out is something that requires a great deal of thought and consideration.

You will need to think about the current layout and facilities in the office and how you can improve these. There is nothing worse than an office space where employees (especially from different departments) are sat in close proximity often with distracting results. This is perhaps why you should give proper consideration to office partitioning as part of your office refurbishment.

Partitioning

Partitioning enables you to create subtle, yet separate work spaces for employees. This is without going to the hassle and expense of creating extra rooms or putting up permanent partition walls. By having separate workspaces it enables employees to concentrate more fully on their tasks therefore increasing productivity and efficiency.

If your employees are required to use the phone then the partitioning will help to cut out the distracting noise of other people talking, meaning you are better able to concentrate on your own tasks. As the partitions are not forming completely separate spaces everyone can still feel part of the team and communicate with others when required. However, they still have a degree of privacy so can get on with work even if others are talking.

Another benefit of partitioning is that it can easily be moved around. This means if you need to change the layout of the office, if for example a new desk is added, the partitioning can be moved to accommodate this. The partitioning can also be added to if your business grows meaning it is a flexible solution.

Partitioning can take various forms from small partitioning between desks to larger glass partitioning. If you do want a separate office space then glass partitioning is ideal as the glass allows light flow meaning the rooms feel spacious and staff do not feel isolated as they can see into (or out of) the partitioned area.

With all the different options of partitioning available for your office fit out it is often worth discussing it with an expert. An office refurbishment can be a large and stressful job to do on your own so utilising the skills of an expert make it a little easier. Just get in touch: we have a dedicated team of experts ready to answer any of your office fit out questions.

Glass partitioning

Contemporary Office Design: Love the Space You’re In

love your space

Despite the growing trend of remote working, fuelled by teleconferencing and the ‘cloud’, companies are still investing in office design projects to make their physical office space more enticing. And contemporary design style is very much in vogue.

At the more ‘quirky’ end of the spectrum, Rental Cars’ new Manchester headquarters boasts an open-air cinema, rooftop ‘beach’, games room and drive-in diner and, at Ticketmaster’s London HQ employees can take the ‘slide’ down to the office bar!

But the reality is that these companies have spent a large amount of money designing and developing a very unique and contemporary space that aligns with their culture.

So how do you design your office to incorporate a more modern and contemporary feel that engages your staff, without it costing a fortune?

Use lots of glass

glass partitioning

Glass allows light to permeate and light helps to boost energy and morale. That is why glass partitioning is widely used in contemporary office design – both to separate workspace areas and create meeting rooms and managers’ offices… Glass helps retain that feeling of space, openness and modernity.

And using glass does not have to mean a lack of privacy: manifestations on glass can provide much-needed privacy as well as being used to great branding effect.

Create social spaces

social spaces

You might be accustomed to grabbing a takeaway coffee on the way to work, but many employers have also recognised the benefit of recreating that café culture in the office. Having an informal social hub for staff to relax and chat also brings with it more collaboration, idea-sharing and, ultimately, more motivated and engaged employees.

And a workplace café is also the ideal space to add a bit of contemporary style. By using modern office chairs in vibrant colours, glass coffee tables, or comfy sofas, you can create the perfect environment to break the workday tension.

Think about your walls

feature walls

What’s on your office walls? Just a bit of magnolia paint? Why not get creative with your walls and inject a more contemporary ‘look and feel’ to your office design at the same time?

Art inspires creativity and hanging artwork on your office walls is a quick fix way to transform a relatively sterile office environment to a more colourful and inspiring space.

Or you could turn an entire wall in your office into a whiteboard – the perfect way to build interaction in meetings or a brainstorming session.

And finally…

For that quirky touch – on a budget – here’s the perfect way to add contemporary design style and grab some peace and quiet at the same time! Yes, we can source this cork helmet for you! Just ask.

cork helmet

November 11, 2014 by Sarah Glover 0 Comments

Ditch Dull Partitioning When You Hire Office Fit Out Companies

Office fit out companies

When creating the ideal office environment, you will no doubt require partitioning to ensure that all your employees have the privacy that they require. Whether it is individual offices, group offices, meeting/conference rooms or break rooms that you need to create, many office fit out companies offer a variety of interesting and modern partitioning options. Partitioning doesn’t need to be a brick or plaster wall!

Increase comfort and productivity

Being able to cordon off areas of your building can be incredibly important for both the comfort and productivity of your employees. Some employees may require their own office, especially if the work they do is of the upmost importance and requires full concentration. Alternatively, you may find that some of your employees require different offices for different teams within the company so that they can work together without distractions from other areas of the company. Similarly, if you hold meetings or conferences then partitioning can be essential if the meeting does not involve everyone in the company and therefore requires quiet and privacy. Other areas that require some form of partitioning include break rooms, as some employees may have different break/lunch times to others and may therefore need an area where they will not distract the others.

Partitioning

Get creative with partitioning

When choosing partitioning, lots of people opt for plain brick or plaster partitioning – perhaps unaware of the options that office fit out companies have available to them. Partitioning can be either fixed or free standing, depending on the permanence of the partition and depending on the requirements of the partition.

Not only that, but partitioning can also be made of glass either clear or frosted or a combination of both in a design or pattern. Since many office fit out companies can source whatever it is you want the design to be, you can be as creative as you like. Designing your own partitioning free from the constraints of dull brick walls and plaster means you can reflect who you are as a company whilst creating the privacy and quiet you need. With options such as printed images and dropped crisscross hanging walls, you can create virtually anything you want.

For more information visit meridian-interiors.co.uk.