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6 design tips for your new office
Here are some of the things we think about when designing site offices...
1. First Impressions
The exterior of a modular building, whether it’s permanent or portable, can be designed to blend seamlessly with your current layout, perhaps even to enhance it! It can be finished in the same colours, and completed with your company colours or logo. Tasbuilt offers a range of versatile external finishes such as painted cement sheeting, colourbond and timber cladding. If you’d like a contemporary look that stands out, there’s the new, on-trend vertical timber cladding to consider. Whatever you opt for, Tasbuilt will work with you on a professionally selected colour scheme and overall appearance designed to complement your current site perfectly.
2. Sightlines
The hidden secret of great design work, ‘sightlines’ are the theoretical lines between a person and the object or space in front of them. In the context of interior design, sightlines are used in considering what we see when we enter a room – where does the eye naturally fall? Ideally, interior layout is designed and arranged optimally, from both an aesthetic and functional point of view. Sightlines help with this. A good way to think about it is to start with the entry to your new modular building. Where does the visitor need to go first, and what do you want them to see? We suggest a well-placed, welcoming reception desk and perhaps a waiting area. Beyond that, there should be a suite of rooms that’s easy to access and whose layout makes sense intuitively.
3. Interior Design
A site office is a busy place, with multiple people working at a range of tasks, some physical, some administrative, some requiring space for meetings. Tasbuilt’s designers will work with you to get a good understanding of what your team’s needs are when it comes to arranging capacity and layout.
Do you have groups of people who work together and need a shared workspace? Do your project managers need their own office in which to make calls? How do these rooms need to connect? Will there be a kitchen, changing rooms or other amenities, storage and reception? Even the design and placement of work stations, functional storage and reception desks that present a professional welcome while housing computers and desk work should all be factored in.
4. Aesthetics
There’s that word again. While it might be low down on the priority list for some, the finished look of your site office or facility can make all the difference in creating a place that people actually want to go to work in. If you want to go that extra step, we’ve found that using natural timbers and warm colours creates an inviting space that is still highly functional. When it comes to hard-working areas like kitchens and utility and storage, they can be separate rooms or a tucked away behind doors in a space designed for that purpose. This is particularly handy when space is limited.
5. Outdoor Spaces
Tasbuilt modular buildings often incorporate exterior decking and ramps, which provide easy access for visitors and your employees. They can be surprisingly useful, giving you a commanding view across the site in an elevated position away from vehicles, and are often a good spot for an impromptu meeting. Covered walkways and undercover areas are useful too, and Tasbuilt will advise you on customised solutions that exactly meet the needs of your site.
6. Flow & Flooring
Any construction site shed, or site office needs to be fit for purpose, and our designers plan in advance around the foot traffic in and around your modular building. What will the flow of people be like? What sort of facilities will they be accessing? It’s important to make sure the right grade of commercial flooring is in place for high-traffic areas, especially if the outside environment is rough ground. If the people accessing a space are wearing work-boots, the flooring needs to be tough and easily cleaned. If you’re creating an office space, a commercial carpet which minimises sound and is still hard-wearing might be a better choice.
Check out our project gallery to see the office projects we've completed across Tasmania!