office trends
February New & Used Office Furniture Sale February 2021
Click here to see our New and Used Furniture Specials for February.
Introducing ezoBord
WORKPLACE DESIGN
The trend to create modern collaborative open working environments has created acoustic challenges, intensified by the use of hard reflective surfaces in design. We believe in the importance of providing a comfortable environment to work within, with excellent speech intelligibility, minimal unwanted interruptions, whilst encouraging collaboration.
Ezobord offers a wide range of products suited to office environments, from bespoke branding and images, signature ceiling installations such as the acoustical net, beautiful division options such as the work zone divider, to simple but effective acoustic desk screens.
Contact Us today for more information!
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
May New & Used Office Furniture Spring 2020
Click here to see our New and Used Furniture Specials for May.
The COVID Workspace
As we look to opening up our businesses, we need to be conscience of the challenges to our workspace to accommodate this COVID-19 world.
If you need help creating a design for you and your staff, we are here to help. Here is a list of services we provide to assist transition in a return to the office.
- Add screens to your work surfaces
- Create a layout that accommodates social distancing throughout your space
- Add safety screens to your reception station
- Add automatic door openers to your hallways and entrances
- Mount respiratory hygiene stations / hand sanitizing stations
It’s impossible to predict what may happen next, but we want you to know we are here should you need to prepare as we get closer to reopening our businesses.
For your information, here is a list of various articles for your review:
Vox – This is the end of the office as we know it
Fast Company – Our offices will never be the same after COVID-19. Here’s what they could look like
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
April New & Used Office Furniture Spring 2020
Click here to see our New and Used Furniture Specials for April.
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
March New & Used Office Furniture Spring 2020
Click here to see our New and Used Furniture Specials for March.
Shhhhh… Quiet Spaces
| The Quiet Spaces product line is basically acoustic art for noisy spaces. The open office has tons of awesome advantages, but you can’t overlook the need for controlling the noise. Quiet Spaces is the perfect solution to help reduce noise in your workspace so your team can focus, and it adds some cool design features too! The product line has products that can hang from the ceiling or products that you can apply to walls to help absorb sound. |
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
February New and Used Office Furniture Sale
Click here to see our New and Used Furniture Specials for February 2020.
Communications
The key to any business is its ability to communicate. As part of our consultative approach we analyze your communications needs and recommend options to meet both current and future requirements. From cabling to power, IT infrastructure, videoconferencing and phone systems, we work within your budget to provide solutions that work for you.
Our Services Include:
- Landline telephony
- IP telephony
- Mobile telephony
- Cloud Computing
- Audio Visual
- Video Conferencing
- Networking and Cabling
Office Space Ideas That Take Flexibility to a Whole New Level
OK. Do you remember one of my previous blogs stating that flexibility would be key in office space design? Well, there are actually some office space ideas, concepts and materials that take “flexibility” to a whole new level.
Take, for example, the Everblock®. If you were ever a Lego® fanatic or ever dreamed of living or working in a room built of Lego® blocks, your dream could easily become a reality. Inspired by Lego®, Everblocks® are sturdy modular plastic life-sized interlocking blocks that can easily be used to build a wall divider or room whenever needed– but that’s not all. These same blocks can be used to build chairs, desks, sofas, shelving, cabinets….pretty much any furniture your office would need… and your team can be the creative “Masterbuilders” of it all. Talk about flexibility!
How about the sliding inflatable wall that doubles as a lounge bed? That’s right. A glossy transparent inflatable screen resembling a giant form of bubble-wrap is set within a frame on castors to create a great sliding office partition that can easily be moved around to define certain office areas without compromising too much on the open office space concept. This same inflatable screen can slide out of its frame and be laid on the floor to create a lounging area or bed. That’s flexibility.
If you are more of a Tetris® fan, then here is an idea for your office– Tetris® inspired furniture pieces which when fitted together can either be a table with chairs (suitable for a lunchroom setting), a lounge sofa, a full length display table, shelving, a storage unit…the possibilities are seemingly endless.
What is great about these ideas is that they not only facilitate flexibility in an office space, but they also encourage active creativity while taking into account the well-being of staff. Now that is thinking outside of the box.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
……………………………………………………..
References:
Everblock Systems, http://www.everblocksystems.com/
Trendir, Sliding Office Partition, Inflatable Free-Standing Screen From Sacea, http://www.trendir.com/sliding-office-partition-bablo/
Ackerman, E, Oh Gizmo, Space Efficient Furniture from Tetris, Http://www.ohgizmo.co/2007/09/10/space-efficent-furniture-from-Tetris
Tags: office, office space, flexibility, office furniture
Bigger Companies, Smaller Office Spaces – What Gives?
Well, 2016 is gone but the trends of larger growing companies occupying a smaller office space footprint and fitting more people in smaller work spaces will still be strong in 2017.
Why? Well, there are a few contributing factors:
- Companies operate differently – Throughout 2016, more and more companies adapted the “Workplace 2.0” style of operations. Instead of stringent 8am-4pm or 9am-5pm working hours for most staff, organizations allowed more flexible hours for their workers. Instead of assigned workstations, office and workstation “hotelling” or reservation-based seating became a popular practice. There were increasingly more opportunities for staff to work from home. Some organizations even found it more economically sound to outsource some of their administrative or in-office operations to outsiders who wanted to work from home. In addition, part-time and contract hires were on the rise. These trends are likely to continuing through 2017.
- Technological advances – Video conferencing, teleconferencing, Smartboards and other technological advances have lessened the demand for staff to physically meet in the same room, thus lowering the need for large meeting room spaces. The introduction of virtual storage spaces like the Cloud lessen the need for a lot of physical filing and storage space. In fact, physical filing and storage units have been re-purposed to store personal belongings, limiting the need for physical storage to be at the workstation itself. Most work is done on electronic devices (laptops, Ipads, etc) which are physically thinner and smaller. Even signatures are electronic– thus limiting the need to deal with physical paperwork.
- Economy – Though demand for commercial real estate remains relatively high in Toronto, there is an overall level of uncertainty about how the Canadian economy will be affected by key international events like Brexit and the US election results. The low oil prices and the low Canadian dollar, however, seem to make Canada an attractive country for international organizations to invest and expand in, which could be why commercial real estate vacancies could experience a slight decrease in 2017.
So what gives? Big companies, both local and international, will likely continue to occupy smaller office spaces throughout 2017 in order to maintain a competitive edge in a volatile economy.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
References:
PWC and Urban Land Institute, “Emerging Trends In Real Estate: Canada and the United States 2017”, http://read.ca.pwc.com/i/741231-emerging-trends-in-real-estate-2017/5?utm_source=communities-etre&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=emerging-trends-in-real-estate-2017
Kirby, J., Macleans, “75 Charts Every Canadian Should Watch in 2017”, http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/75-charts-every-canadian-should-watch-in-2017/
Keywords: Space
tags: office space
Who says you can’t sleep on the job? Introducing Sleeping Pods
What was once considered a reason to permanently relieve a person from their duties if done at work is now slowly being re-looked at by companies as just one more way to promote well-being and increased productivity amongst staff members. I am referring to sleep. And with the introduction of sleeping pods in an office space, staff catching up on lost sleep during their break or lunch hours, will be much more easily facilitated.
What are sleeping pods? In short, they are self contained units built for one, and designed for the sole purpose of allowing its user a private place to nap. Similar to office pods, sleeping pods are portable, sound proof, and can either be fully or partially enclosed. Some sleeping pods are even stackable, therefore allowing multiple units to be in an office space without taking up a large amount of its real estate.
Inspired by space and submarine sleeping capsules, sleeping pods at minimum include some form of mattress or bed upon which the user can lay down horizontally and rest. Some sleeping pods, however, can be outfitted with shelving for personal items, a radio, CD or DVD player and/or television to keep the individual entertained while in resting position.
Why introduce the option to sleep at work? According to Global Dean of Research, Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School, Vicki Culpi, “Memory, attention, decision making, creativity and innovative thinking, highly relevant skills in the work environment, have all been shown to be affected by poor sleep, and the effects can appear after only a few nights of poor sleep. In addition, chronic sleep restriction, over longer periods of time, have been linked to diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.” Affording employees the opportunity to “disconnect and recharge” in a sleeping pod, even for just 15 minutes, has shown improvement in all of the above areas as well as promoted an increase in productivity, creativity and innovation amongst staff.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
References:
Ross, Eleanor, Virgin.com, Feb 1, 2016, “Are sleeping pods about to become commonplace in offices?”, https://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/are-sleeping-pods-about-become-commonplace-offices
The Evolution of Meeting Space Designs
It is amazing to see how vastly different meeting spaces are these days compared to what they were years ago. There was a time when business meetings took place in an enclosed rectangular-shaped room with one rectangular-shaped window to the outside world, a long solid rectangular-shaped table and several hi-backed rectangular-shaped office chairs. Now, with emphasis on encouraging collaboration, innovation, and creativity in an open-spaced environment, and incorporating the cafe or home decor themes into office spaces, meeting spaces have gone through several phases to take on entirely new forms. A few of those phases are listed below:
Phase 1: No Longer Rectangular
Enclosed meeting spaces designed to maintain an element of confidentiality are no longer restricted to the four walls of a rectangular-shaped room. With the introduction of office pods, meeting spaces have taken on dome, beehive, cylinder, egg and other interesting geometric shapes. Add in the home-decor theme and you’ve got the greenhouse, living room and large kitchen-inspired meeting spaces within the office space.
Phase 2: No longer Enclosed
Then there are meeting spaces that are relatively open or semi-private spaces. Designed more for encouraging collaboration, these meeting spaces typically have partial walls or partitions, and are open at least on two sides. Some of these collaborative meeting spaces take on the form of a booth, similar to what you would see at a restaurant. Others adopt more of a picture-framed look. More recent designs combine the booth with the framed looked by extending the back rest of the booth to form a roof frame over its potential users.
Phase 3: No more walls
Finally, there are those meeting spaces that are just out in the open. Identified by the furniture placement and possibly an area rug, these types of meeting spaces aim to promote collaboration without tainting the open space office design in any way.
The most unique meeting space gaining popularity is the amphitheatre-designed meeting space. Unlike any other meeting space design, the amphitheatre meeting space is literally the large and wide staircase found in the prominent area of an office space. Why is this design gaining popularity? Because it is familiar for the younger workforce and recent graduates entering the workforce. (By the way, designers are now looking to schools to see how those designs and layouts could be incorporated into the office space design).
The future phases of meeting spaces may incorporate more geometric shapes or adopt nature’s most common meeting spaces. Regardless, meeting spaces will always play an integral role in facilitating the future success of businesses.
……………………………………………………………………………
DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
5 Objectives Colours and Textures Fulfill in an Office Space Design
Throughout the history of office space design, the use of colours and textures have helped companies strive towards the image and business goals they aimed to achieve. Below are just a few objectives colour and texture can fulfill within an office space design:
- To Establish or Reinforce Corporate Identity – the colours within a company’s logo, for example, can be applied throughout the decor of the office space in order to further emphasized corporate identity to both staff and visitors
- Promote a Positive Mood – it has been said time and time again that a positive environment promotes positive mood, which in a corporate environment promotes productivity. Choosing the right colour and texture combination in an office space design to bring about a positive environment can in turn help increase productivity.
- Inspire Creativity and Innovation – I believe that similar to promoting a positive mood, the right colour scheme mixed in conjunction with a variety of textures sends an unconscious or subconscious message to its onlookers that “anything goes”. As a result, employees, though consciously unaware, are spurred on to “think outside the box”, and come up with creative and innovative solutions to whatever challenges the company faces.
- Differentiate workspaces and meeting areas – There was a time when walls and doors defined a workspace. Over time, walls became shorter or more transparent in order to promote a more collaborative open office space design. Today, walls, for the most part, have disappeared but both colour and texture are used in conjunction with one another to help differentiate workspaces and meeting areas.
- Help organize individual workspaces – Files are not the only thing that get colour coordinated within an office environment. Companies are now “splashing” individual workspaces with specially coloured desk trays, filing cabinets, pen holders and other workspace related items in order to help the users of those workspaces remain organized while working in those areas.
Over time trends in office space design have changed, but colour and texture, though re-purposed, have been two of the primary tools used to ultimately create the ideal office space.
……………………………………………..
DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management company of choice for the Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas. If a renovation or relocation of your 2,000 – 25,000 sq.ft. office space is in your plans, contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. We guarantee that by the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
Corporate Space Planning & Relocation Advice 