An Introduction To Evidence-based Office Design

“Design is where science and art break even.” – Robin Mathew

While great office design is important in attracting talent to your workplace, creating a community within the workplace and a whole host of other benefits, the space must also be practical – if a room looks amazing but doesn’t get used to its potential, what good is it? This is where Evidence-based design comes in.

Inspirational and practical

Evidence-based design is essentially a scientific method that designers use to make not only creative decisions but also practical ones. It involves gathering data about a project, such as; how many people come in and out of this room each day, what is it used for, how many people tend to use it at any one time, how long do they spend in there, what equipment/furniture do they/don’t they current use, etc, as well as; how SHOULD the space be used, who SHOULD use it, etc.

This information is essential for making wise decisions about how to design and what to include in a space, and making the most of the space you have can help save you money on your rent costs. Many workplaces we’ve transformed have benefited from this approach; with many companies seeing better space utilisation and, as a result, higher productivity and output.

Good data = Good decisions

The data collection process takes place during the initial project consultancy, where discussions are had about the current workspace – what the client likes, what they don’t like, etc. Then, a member of our team will spend a set amount of time (depending on the project, typically around 1 month) in the building, analysing how people use the space, using desk monitoring equipment and other technology to assist with the data collection.

This data is then analysed by our designers with the help of our professional design-analysis software, and with this analysis, they build a 3D render of how the client’s office should be laid out according to their current usage and needs. This 3D model, once created, is sent to the client for their feedback, beginning the client-designer feedback loop that leads to the finished project – a highly detailed 3D model, ready to be built in an office fit out.