Interior designers’ strategies for creating social office space
Susanne Colenberg (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
Rianne Appel-Meulenbroek (Eindhoven University of Technology)
Natalia Romero Herrera (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
David Keyson (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
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Abstract
The rise of remote working has highlighted the importance of office spaces that support employees’ social well-being. However, there is a lack of explicit knowledge on how to design such spaces. In order to address this gap, this study explored the strategies employed by practitioners in designing social office spaces. In-depth interviews with fifteen experienced interior designers were analysed using means-end chain theory. This revealed the designers’ common aim to encourage informal social interactions through creating attractive, spacious, recognisable, and spatially integrated breakout spaces. Additionally, communicating group identity, promoting visibility, and offering a cosy atmosphere aimed to foster a sense of connectedness among employees. These findings not only enable more deliberate design decisions but also serve as valuable insights for less experienced designers. Moreover, the framework of design components, affordances and design objectives that emerged from this study can enhance communication between designers and stakeholders involved in office projects.
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