4SPACE Design’s new workplace encourages well-being and fosters a sense of belonging for the team
4SPACE Design has unveiled its new office at the Jumeirah Lake Towers, which exudes a sense of well-being and belonging. Neutral monochromatic schemes and a large breakout area with games and relaxation space for the team to draw, breath, and find a sense of peace from a busy day.
Concept
“When brutalism meets minimalism with a twist of industrial”. 4SPACE has paired unfinished concrete breeze blocks with a smooth monochromatic pallet and verdant trees to nod to biophilic living. Richly covered modern furniture, exposed piping, stainless steel accessories, and fluorescent lighting create exciting spaces for work, meetings, and play.
Various design elements
The 4SPACE Design offices are exciting. The exposed breeze block walls are treated with sealer material to enhance and preserve the brutalist look. It’s raw, unfinished, and playful. Modern angular lighting bounces light throughout the open spaces and communal workstations. The central atrium of the offices boasts a beautifully preserved, semi-artificial olive tree that has been hand-fashioned by craftsmen in Dubai. The trees have come from historic groves across the region. Olive trees are known to flourish until they are several thousands of years old. Introducing biophilic design elements into a space can help alleviate stress, improve cognitive function, and enhance mood and creativity. The space is multi-functional, with open spaces for teams to assemble, but the team can create private spaces with impressive pivotal doors for important meetings.
About the execution
This project was extraordinarily fast and only took a month to complete. It was a complete family affair where the 4SPACE design team, contractors and suppliers all contributed to the seamless execution of the new office space. Each person provided valuable support to achieve the tight timeline for the transition from the old offices to the new. About the ambience The 4SPACE office has the appeal of a solid but inviting fortress. The distinctive concrete modernism provides lighthearted intrigue yet is minimalistic and intimate. The office is set amidst endless city skyscrapers. As a result of the open workspaces, the office possesses spectacular views across the Dubai waterfront and the iconic Dubai Eye.
Challenges overcome
Contractors struggled to manoeuvre 2.70-metre glass partitions in the elevators; their hard work and brave efforts have created a remarkable installation. The concrete flooring was quite challenging; it had to be poured, dried and levelled precisely. From the questionnaire, the entire design process and construction took a mere 45 days.
Unique and key features
There are many focal points, but the most exciting key features are the olive tree, concrete and exposed breeze blocks, the neutral monochromatic colour scheme and the open ceiling concept with exposed industrial metal piping.
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How can you future-proof your office and return to the workplace safely with Dyson?
After a year of working remotely during a global pandemic, many office workers are already returning to the workplace, with a keen focus on staying safe, and a demand for healthy and hygienic workspaces, including shared spaces such as washrooms.
“This global pandemic is the greatest crisis of modern times, and it has fundamentally changed the way we work and our approach and attitudes to hygiene,” says Alex Knox, Dyson VP of Environmental Care. “Keeping shared spaces clean has never been so important and we all want to touch things less. We’ve developed a fast, hygienic and touch-free way to dry hands, which comes without the cost and environmental concerns associated with papers towels. Our Dyson AirbladeTM hand dryers also feature HEPA filters that capture 99.95% of particles, including bacteria and viruses, to dry your hands with clean air, not dirty washroom air.”
The new research supports that Dyson Airblade technology is a safe and hygienic washroom solution, especially compared to paper towels, giving employers and employees assurance that a Dyson Airblade hand dryer is a hygienic washroom essential at a time when returning to the workplace is a concern for many.
“We know damp hands can transfer up to 1000 times more bacteria than dry hands,” says Salome Giao, Senior Researcher at Dyson. “We wanted to ensure that people are washing and drying their hands properly and dispel any myths around aerosolisation and hand dryers,” she explains. “Not having a drying option in a washroom due to misinformation can increase the spread of germs and is ultimately unhygienic,” she adds.
What is the study and what does it mean for workers?
This new research supports that the Dyson AirbladeTM is a safe and hygienic way to dry your hands. In this independent study hands rinsed with water (no soap) or washed with soap for 20 seconds were then dried using Dyson AirbladeTM hand dryers or paper towels. The objective was to determine the effect of the different hand drying methods on concentration of aerosols and bacteria in air. The study results showed that aerosols can be generated in a washroom due to different activities, such as walking, and using a tap. It also revealed that in general drying your hands with a Dyson AirbladeTM hand dryer showed no statistical difference to these common washroom activities, such as walking and washing hands.
It also showed the increase of aerosols and bacteria numbers after drying with any of the Dyson AirbladeTM hand dryer models is comparable to the numbers obtained when hands are dried with paper towels. Dispelling any uncertainty around this technology in the process. Add to that the fact that Dyson Airblade technology is touch free at a time when people are conscious of touching surfaces such as dispensers, door handles or touching buttons. In a global hygiene study in July 2020, Dyson examined how attitudes towards the washroom and general hand hygiene have changed since COVID-19 started.
The study revealed that poorly maintained washrooms caused people concern, with 40% worrying about having to press buttons on hand dryers to use them. 58% of those surveyed selected touchless activation of a hand dryer as one of the features that would put their mind at ease if using a hand dryer and a further 47% stated that hand dryers with filters, which clean the air would also make them feel more confident when drying their hands with a hand dryer.
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European businesses look to create new workplace strategies in response to COVID-19
Over half (51%) of businesses surveyed from across Europe are looking to implement a new workplace strategy in response to COVID-19, according to the latest research from Knight Frank’s Strategic Consultancy team. The EMEA re-occupancy research findings taken in June, which represented almost 1,000 business operations across 34 countries in Europe, has highlighted the changing approaches to the future of the workplace.
11% of respondents identified that they would require more space to accommodate social distancing, and only 8% are considering relocating to cheaper sub-markets for space.
Whilst COVID-19 is believed to have had a significant economic impact on 59% of businesses in the short term, in the medium-term 63% of respondents determined that it would have a marginal to no impact, showing signs of expected V-shape recovery.
P P Varghese, Head of Real Estate Strategy & Consulting at Knight Frank, said: “As businesses in the region begin to emerge from the lockdown, lessons learned while working from home will increasingly seep into the new workplace strategies being implemented. This is a period of experimentation and assessment of what works for various organisations and will inform the workplace of the future. As we continue to work closely with our clients to address this important topic, we have seen that whilst the overall demand for space is anticipated to reduce, there is an expectation that the workplace requirement will be for better, higher quality and less dense spaces, alongside a consideration of how people could work better, closer to home. The workplace of the future is expected to be focused on providing a higher level of experience for employees. Collaborative environments will need to be blended with increased use of technology to enable seamless working.”
Mass working from home has had widespread impacts on the workplace of the future with 38% of businesses surveyed interested in an increased amount of collaborative space. Furthermore, a third of respondents (33%) believe that the demand for addressing the design and specification of offices is expected to grow, in light of changing office sentiment and uses.
Materiality in workplace environments post COVID-19
Kerry Deffley, design manager EMEA, Shaw Contract, on materials, trends and colours that will take over the workplace environment post-pandemic
Post COVID-19 lockdown it is likely that we will all be adopting new ways of working for a considerable period. This will certainly impact both workplace design and materials and looks specified for interiors. While a connection to nature has been a trend for some time in workplace design, it will come into a sharper focus through deliberate interventions and a deeper focus on the psychological and physiological effects of space. Breakout spaces and areas for ‘refuge’ and recuperation, thermal and acoustic comfort, and the use of patterns, textures and materials which reference a connection to the natural world.
We think the popular ‘resi-merical’ trend that we have been seeing adopted into workspaces over the past few years will also resonate. The emotional connection to home again is also about comfort, well-being, and with it warmth, softness, and sense of place. But new ways of working are likely to include provision and guidance for social distancing in the workplace. Modular flooring offers great flexibility for creating zones, wayfinding and distancing using colour and textures, and installation methods.
Trend reports are also predicting some interesting choices post-COVID which summarised are about restorative colour. These include colours to enhance well-being – tones to create a clean, hygienic feel including mints and aquas. While pale and dusty pastel tones associated with calm and comfort are being introduced. Nourishing earth tones are also on-trend, with plant-based colours to help us reconnect with nature and the outdoors. We are also likely to see colours to enhance well-being by embracing fun and joy – brights such as reds, oranges, lime green and cobalt blue – as accent colours, and to zone floor spaces.