Space Planning
The continued modernisation in Singapore has led to an almost meteoric rise in land values (per square foot) over the years, and with rents on the rise in many areas, this leads to a lack of suitable office spaces that could be taken “off-the-rack”.
Sometimes even with simple renovation, the overall environment within the office, especially its design, furniture, functional layouts are parts of the wrong puzzle being put together.
As office space becomes increasingly scarce in Singapore, the space for office becomes more crowded.
As long as there are people working or spending time in a space, there will always be 2 factors which will cross each other’s domain:
- Ergonomics – It is concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely
- Anthropometrics – It is the science of measuring the size and proportions of the human body, especially as applied to the design of furniture and machines.
In Singapore, adopting an efficient office space is one of the key reasons arising from saving on leasing costs. It is also typical in Singapore that assumptions had been made in the past about space planners being interior designers, but other than the obvious advantage of saving space, it creates an intangible value in other areas, such as:
- Nurture collaboration and lifts productivity;
- Talent retention;
- Talent recruitment;
- Promotes creativity;
- Supports a multi-cultural work environment;
- Tells a story about the business;
- Promotes and symbolises a company’s vision
Given that most employees spend a big part of their life in offices and at workplaces, the general comfort of office space is directly related to their general well-being and personal performance and consequently, the performance of the business.
Space planning applies not only to offices which directly affects the employees, other industries such as the food and beverage, services and retail industry all across Singapore is able to send a strong message to its customers and its work ethos through proper design and space planning.
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What is space planning?
Space planning organizes the space, furniture and functions to work together and most effectively accommodate the needs of the employees and visitors/customers. Space planning is a fundamental element of the interior design process. It starts with an in-depth analysis of how space is to be used. The designer then draws up a plan that defines the zones of the space and the activities that will take place in those zones. People circulated would then be considered. The plan is completed by incorporating the details of all the furniture, equipment and hardware.
Why is space planning important?
How space is planned will directly affect the depth of interactions of employees between different departments. Since space planning is part of the larger context of office renovation as a business tool to lift employee morale, it also directly helps to lift the business performance. It is also important to align compliance with Singapore’s health and safety regulations while taking into consideration of lighting, availability of pantry and toilet facilities.
Related Topic...
Key considerations in the space planning process
The key consideration to take note of, so as to be aligned with Singapore's regulations...
Small Spaces
Some consideration when dealing with small spaces...
Note: Above topic can also be found in the Info Corner
