Kansas City Space Planning Firm Shares Top 2016 Office Design Trends

As we usher in the New Year, we wanted to highlight some of our favorite office design trends as well as highlight what the experts had to say to Fast Company about what to expect in 2016!

Design expert, Joan Blumenfeld, believes the workplace is ripe for reinvention. “Workspaces should flex to provide a variety of spaces and destinations for workers to inhabit that promote movement throughout the day. While many companies are doing a good job of incorporating some of these elements into their workplace design, there’s a need for more awareness and implementation of this way of thinking holistically about the workplace,” said Blumenfeld.WorkspacesPerhaps one of the largest and fastest growing trends in office design is the disappearance of cubicles and emergence of multipurpose workspaces. These spaces can be used for everything from multimedia presentations to casual breakout areas. Oval-shaped office desks and community tables will gain popularity as they are more convenient for medium sized groups of people to meet and reflect in a relaxed, congenial and collaborative workspace. Additionally, there will be a shift toward height adjustable tables in these office areas. Other trends to take note of include hiding wires from desktops and incorporating designated lounge areas to make offices more comfortable and enjoyable.

StyleLet’s face it, the needs of workspaces are ever changing; flexibility is in and permanent layouts are out. Having products that are designed to be mixed, stacked or moved around offer countless combinations for dynamic and collaborative workspaces. A variety of materials and fabrics throughout workspaces create environments that influence wellness and productivity. This allows designers to use color and texture to create areas that are personalized and inspiring to work in. Offices organized by color also help thoughts to be more organized and creative while boosting happiness and productivity. Lastly, bringing the outdoors in creates a cozy and natural feeling and offers a little piece of home into the work environment.

Be on the lookout for these creative design solutions in 2016 as they bring employees together in ways that allow them to be their very best!