Think office furniture. What comes to mind? Office chairs, conference tables, rows of cubicles? Well, get ready to rethink your office!

Welcome to a new world of collaborative office spaces; where tall-walled cubicles are replaced with benching desks with low or even no dividers. Welcome to a birthplace of innovation, to a place where one’s working environment inspires team work and open discussion. Think ‘out of the box’ of your four-walled office and into a place of creativity and openness.

This office space is commonly termed as ‘Touchdown space,’ ‘Hoteling’ or ‘Benching’ where collaborative work stations transform old fortresses of the bosses’ office and walled-off conference rooms into shared and open areas that encourage discussion. Where painted, dry walls stood, you will instead find glass walls, lower walls or no walls at all. Where common areas can be found in the center of a room and offices are no longer on the outskirts, tucked away along the perimeters of the walls.

But, what does this mean for the type of furniture we select for our modern office?

  • Instead of defined and closed-off private spaces, offices are giving way to ‘open office furniture.’
  • Our electrical systems need to be available in the center of a room where employees connect.
  • Desks and storage are placed closer together to be shared by multiple employees.
  • Managers’ offices are no longer hidden away in a room but are often located in the midst of their group.
  • Large, closed-in chairs are replaced with low back, non-confining and non-armed chairs or stools to encourage open dialogue and promote discussion.
  • Tables become like cafe tables or high top tables as you would find in a local bar or restaurant.
  • Furniture is no longer confined to yesterday’s conventional design, transforming an ordinary office chair into a ball, bean bag or block.

So, have you started thinking ‘outside the box’ yet? Call our team of designers at Bernard’s Office Furniture to transform an ordinary office space into a new space of collaboration.