From our earliest discussions of this industrial-chic project with a technology company client, flexibility was the name of the game. Our client’s design brief outlined an assortment of workspace types to suit their various teams. Some teams frequently collaborated as a group; other workers preferred solo, head-down work time; and yet other teams switched adeptly back and forth between collaboration and individual focus. We assembled workspaces that offered all these distinct options—a big ask on its own in a massive open office—as well as built-in adjustability to meet changing day-to-day scenarios.
It’s a good thing Pair centers itself on flexibility, adaptability, and personalization- we were up for the challenge.
On the macro level, we designed individual neighborhoods of workspaces, each one optimized to support a unique team’s set of needs. To achieve this, we pulled from the full spectrum of our modular, sleekly designed office solutions, which includes a range of highly adjustable desks, tables, dividers, and much more. The wide diversity of styles called for meant this project used every single one of our workstation systems then available at the time!
The building we were designing interiors for had just been built from the ground up. This gave us a chance to work in tandem with the architects for some aspects of the space, like colors and material finishes. As part of the team-up, we translated elements of the building into the workstations: for instance, the mill scale steel look that abounds in our pieces and the Foundry leg option on Mix both echo the raw steel I-beams above.
The client also emphasized the need for changing materiality throughout the space, despite its consistent industrial mode. To make this happen, we harnessed the range of our customizable office elements’ materials, colorways, and forms, as well as finishes roaming from veneers to matte blacks to wood textures. Modifying details on our off-the-shelf items was an economical and speedy way for us to deliver our client an array of distinct microenvironments with a bespoke, eclectic feel.
A mix of quiet focus and coffeehouse buzz
We designed each neighborhood of desks to map precisely to its intended users’ work patterns. For managers’ areas, this meant a little extra flexibility, allowing them to switch easily between high-level independent work and direct collaboration with their teams.
We paired our freestanding, height-adjustable Belay desks with Crostini screens and additional side screens to provide privacy for intervals of solo focused work. The side screens were movable, so managers had the option of opening up their spaces to the coffeehouse buzz of chats and group discussions with their team members. Wally units, which you’ll see frequently in this space, complemented the desks, providing a movable container for storage of documents and other items. We kept the colorways to muted neutrals to complement the industrial feel of the space.
Management desking with a residential feel
To add visual variety and meet differing preferences, we designed distinct styles of spaces for the same broad groups of workers. Here you see an alternative to the management area above—one with a more homelike feel. To contribute to the residential vibe, we dressed up our Belay desks with custom Crostinis in a cozy quilted fabric.
We also created a custom storage piece- a low container on wheels with a warm, natural walnut veneer. We wanted to suggest the rustic, while still keeping with the rest of the industrial space and decor. To do this we also included matte black in the palette, along with raw steel bases for the desks. A cork privacy screen for tacking on notes, messages, and ideas was the final touch.
Focused solo project spaces
Some workers and teams need head-down work time—and in an open office, this can be a major design challenge. Fortunately, our Swing High dividers came along right on time. We’d launched Swing when designing this space, and its high height variation was built perfectly for privacy in busy, open spaces. Two-toned Swing also added a pop of bright color to bring contrast and cheer up the area’s quiet nooks. For this focus-oriented workspace, we matched it with Crostini desk-mounted screens. We laid out Belay desks with ash, oak, and walnut veneers in a perpendicular arrangement to reduce side-to-side work and further contribute to the feeling of a solitary workspace.
Collaborative teamwork and hot-desking
Turning from solitude to its opposite, pure collaboration, this next workspace typology features our modular Mix desks. Dividers here weren’t as necessary, so we minimized their use, sticking to a simple Mix screen to optimize occasional independent work. We added screen-free shared surfaces at the end of each grouping of desks for easy collaboration sessions. Overall, we implemented fewer colors in the palette: Mix’s wide, modern end panels provided a big surface for a contrasting veneer to stand out against the tops of the desks.
This workspace typology was also designed for a hot-desking option. A team with set desks nearby could visit this desk grouping to work together in a more open space, while team members who mostly worked off-site or in a different area could set up onsite spaces there, in the same neighborhood as the rest of their team.
A central hub dedicated to teamwork
We designed this fourth workspace typology for full team collaboration with few of the privacy screening elements included in other areas. We went back to the tried-and-true Belay desk, which offers height adjustment to make standing and sitting meetings equally achievable. Storage included a mix-and-match look with varying finishes in Mist, Abyss, and Carbon.
Sound-dampening dividers that bring a splash of color
All the neutrals and industrial materials we curated for the client’s space played off each other in unusual combinations, creating a feeling of variety throughout the building. However, they still represented traditional aspects of the office palette, and neither we nor our client wanted to stick to convention. We decided to introduce color to add a playful final facet to the palette, and our sound-dampening Toast dividers were up to the task.
Each individual Toast boasted a two-tone look, with a splashy color on one side balanced by a more muted complementary color or neutral on the other. For example, the saturated yellow of “Relate” was backed with “Bracket,” a minty, mossy pale gray-green, while bright red “Handcross” went shoulder-to-shoulder with light brown “Frame.” The fabric’s warm, wooly surfaces also contributed to the domestic feel we envisioned bringing to the space.
For this project we implemented the full gamut of our Pair workstation offerings at the time. By allowing tight control of design outcomes through customizable materials, details, finishes, and colorways, Pair pieces brought a distinctive feel and variety to the space while maintaining the low costs and quick delivery times of off-the-shelf items. And our range of workstations and add-ons embraced the whole spectrum of our client’s teams’ day-to-day needs. Flexibility was the target on this project, and we’re calling this one a bull’s-eye.
