Furniture

Furniture can be an expensive investment, it takes up floor space and can be costly to move and store. Too little or too much of a specific furniture type could negatively impact on office functionality, occupant satisfaction and operational costs.

A utilisation assessment should be undertaken to understand the exact furniture requirements. This should help minimise the procurement of unnecessary furnishings and reduce waste and additional storage costs. Such an assessment should:

• Calculate the current (pre fit-out) and target (post fit-out) workspace utilisation to establish the number of workstations required
• Review options for agile working approach to reduce desk numbers and optimise spatial efficiency.
• Minimise extent of cellular offices to improve space utilisation and minimise partitioning.
• Encourage digital storage, and consider centralised storage solutions to reduce the quantities of individual drawers and filing cabinets

BCO's Making Flexible Working Work states that utilisation can be surveyed using hourly observations of all work settings over a 1 to 2 week period, or by using security-pass data or automated systems such as PIR (passive infrared motion) sensors. Three key occupational states are generally noted as:

1. occupied, someone present;
2. unoccupied, no signs of use; 
3. temporarily unoccupied, no one present but signs of use,

For example, for an office with 100 staff where each one has their working station, but only 50 are occupied at any hour, then the current utilisation would be 50%. If the target utilisation is ≥ 80%, then the desks sufficing to accommodate this workforce would be 100 x (50%/80%) = 63 instead of 100. 

Furniture choice and configuration are integral elements of the Layout & Space Planning. The traditional office environment is changing as more organisations adopt flexible working arrangements, including agile working and flexible working hours. This change can be supported by good furniture choices.

Options could include include:

• Teamwork tables to enhance collaborative project work.
• ‘Touch Down’ desks for staff and/or visitors who spend limited time in the office.
• Light-coloured desk tops to reflect daylight deeper into the space.
• Secure storage for personal belongings and project materials to support agile working.
• Small booths to provide areas for focused concentration, free from distractions.
• Dedicated phone call booths and/or pods to reduce intrusive noise in an open plan office.
• Relaxed seating areas or pods for ad-hoc and informal meetings. Design and finishes to help create privacy and suitable acoustic qualities if in an open plan office.
• Tables, armchairs and benches to set a more relaxed feel in break-out areas.
• Nap-pods for short time rest.

There may be opportunities to make use of furniture that already exists within the space from the previous fit-out that can be used rather than completely starting from scratch. This can help reduce costs, whilst also minimising environmental impacts associated with raw material extraction, manufacturing and the supply chain.

One of the first steps in identifying furniture requirements should be to undertake an audit of the existing fit-out and identifying opportunities for re-use and refurbishment. This may be part of an audit that is also looking at opportunities to re-use existing Materials in the space   

The specification of furniture should be based on whole life of the produce over the term of the lease, rather than just concentrating on initial purchasing costs. This should include the benefits of extended refurbishment or replacement intervals, reduced maintenance requirements, as well as, disposal costs and impacts. Principles that should be considered include:

Designing for enhanced durability

Selecting furniture with suitably resilient and robust materials designed for every day use reduce lifecycle costs for cleaning, maintenance, repairs and premature replacement.

Designing for flexibility

Selecting furniture that can be easily demounted, reconfigured or re-used allows for a much more flexible use of space and help to reduce future refresh costs.

Designing for end of life disposal

Reducing negative ‘end of life’ impacts associated with disposal of furniture is key in maximising resource efficiency within the fit-out process. Best practice principles include:

• Exploring options for leasing furniture instead of direct ownership (see also Materials)
• Partner with charities and social enterprises to donate unwanted furniture for reuse.
• Prioritising and using manufacturer’s take-back schemes to reduce end of life waste and maximise opportunities for re-use and recycling.
• Adopting circular economy principles by ensuring furniture can be either reused or recycled. The ideal scenario where the manufacturer manages or is part of a closed-loop waste management system.

Any product lifecycle assessment should also include the environmental impacts associated with the resource extraction, transportation, manufacturing and fabrication of a product manufacture. A responsible procurement approach should prioritise options that have the lower environmental impacts.

Environmental aspects to consider include:

• Impact on local environment during sourcing.
• Level of recycled content.
• Level of biodegradable materials.
• Embodied carbon and water usage.

Ergonomic Furniture

Sit-stand desks to reduce health issues associated with prolonged periods of sitting

Light-coloured desk tops to reflect daylight deeper into the space

Airborne pollutants

Substances used in the manufacturing of materials and surface finishes can impact on indoor air quality, which in turn can affect the health and wellbeing of occupants.  

Furniture should be specified to contain only zero or low-VOC materials e.g paints, varnishes, coatings, adhesives, sealants and any composite wood products such as plywood and MDF.

Occupiers can go beyond the selection of products themselves and influence the overall activities of their supply chains wider business activities from a social and environmental aspect.

Best practice principles for consideration include:

• From an environmental perspective, requiring the supplier or contractor have a certified environmental management system (e.g. ISO14001) or have an informal environmental management system in place for SMEs.
• From a social perspective, requiring the supplier to pay all staff the national living wage, requesting evidence they fully comply with the Modern Slavery Act or are certified to BES 6002 Ethical Labour Sourcing Standard.

Preferring locally sourced products and suppliers that help support the local economy and minimise travel which can subsequently reduce transport emissions and costs.

To help realise the multiple benefits of good furniture choice in building operation, it is imperative that designers and facilities management teams jointly develop a management strategy. This will help ensure that future procurement, use, management and disposal of furniture aligns with strategic objectives.

Providing information and guidance for occupants on the space and layout plan and furniture strategy and their shared benefits can form part of the handover process. Such an approach could include:

• Raising staff awareness of the importance of posture and correct work space configuration
• Encouraging staff to limit extended periods spent sitting
• Promoting a ‘clear desk’ policy to provide a pleasant and flexible work environment
• Signposting availability of different areas within the office layout for different work tasks