COMMENT The design of attractive and desirable office space is an area of high priority for businesses in a post-pandemic world.
Many employers are in a constant battle with employees to ditch remote working, and the pressure is on to provide healthy work environments for occupiers. More than ever, offices must contribute to the wellbeing of employees – a key issue for many in-demand professionals.
How do we deliver workspaces that people want to occupy, while also doing so sustainably? Employees also like to know that their workspaces have been furnished in accordance with low environmental impact principles, creating another key objective for landlords.
At Silbury House in Milton Keynes, we have taken a holistic approach to sustainable practices, from demolition to design and operations. The workspaces in the building demonstrate how office spaces can be designed which are attractive and support the wellbeing needs of the users through enhanced ergonomics, while also being socially and environmentally responsible.
We collaborated with JPA Workspaces and Swedish company Kinnarps to procure truly sustainable furniture solutions that deliver benefits to both users and the environment. This process has reinforced a number of lessons.
Cutting edge
Artistic skill ensures that pieces created from sustainable materials and which are durable – negating the need for regular replacement – are attractive and unique. Scientific skill ensures resistance to wear and tear, meaning less maintenance is required.
This longevity in furniture also lessens the need for upkeep and, therefore, of waste. Science must therefore back up the credentials of sustainable furniture. Kinnarps’ razor-sharp focus on sustainability – as both an art and a science – was a decisive factor in our selection of its pieces.
The cutting-edge modularity of its designs allows items to be updated and adjusted for changing needs. As soon as an element of an item needs replacing down the line, the old part can be recycled and the new part can slot into the remainder of the item, ensuring that manufactured parts are used for as long as possible. We selected pieces with an impressive anticipated 10- to 15-year life cycle, enabling furniture to be used for twice as long as industry norms.
Kinnarps further minimises negative environmental impact in delivery – an often-overlooked step in furniture’s journey that can create a lot of waste. Prior to each delivery, its furniture is wrapped in reusable blankets instead of using single-use cardboard boxes, which would normally go straight into waste. Its furniture is loaded onto lorries like a jigsaw, allowing it to pack 50% more products, which further enhances efficiency and reduces the number of lorries needed for each delivery.
The estimated embodied carbon footprint for the new furniture supplied for our Silbury House project is 23.05 tonnes CO2e. This carbon footprint has been offset through Ecologi Gold verified carbon removal afforestation projects, achieving a carbon-neutral installation. Additionally, 24 trees were planted in the UK this year, one for every tonne of embodied carbon emitted during the furniture installation.
Tenants occupying furnished suites at Silbury House enjoy not only the attractive design of the furniture but also their health and wellbeing benefits. In addition, as a landlord, we can support tenants in achieving their ESG commitments through the data we have available to measure the environmental impact and whole life cycles of furnishings.
For example, selected cabinets were all ISO 14001 certified, demonstrating that the manufacturer has implemented an environmental management system that meets the requirements set by the International Organization for Standardization to minimise environmental impact. This also ensures compliance with environmental laws and regulations in the UK and the EU.
Creativity required
Furnishing offices can no longer just entail desks and chairs being plonked down. The process must be approached as an art and a science. Creativity is required to design aesthetically pleasing spaces that office workers are happy to keep returning to, and which help them to deliver their best work – for both personal fulfilment and career progression, as well as the success of the employer.
Scientific understanding and technical skills ensure that designs are environmentally responsible, functional, of high quality and long-lasting. By combining these elements, sustainable furniture not only meets the needs of the present, but also contributes to sustainability with future generations in mind. Office suppliers should all strive for enhanced environmental efficiency in modern spaces, for today and for tomorrow.
Ana Bajri is head of sustainability at RO Group
