Not just re-arranging the furniture

‘Eurobuild CEE’: The office design market has been continuing to grow at a giddy pace. Have there been any attempts to set up an umbrella organisation for the sector?

Bartosz Trzop, architect and founder, Trzop Architekci: The fit-out market has grown markedly over the last few years, but no organisation has so far been formed that could bring the designers and interior architects working in this segment together. But we have made the decision to set up such an association and taken the first few steps in this direction. We are starting this spring. We would like to integrate this environment and promote design and professional standards among Polish designers.

Zbigniew Kostrzewa, architect, designer and owner, In Design: We would also like to enhance clients’ awareness of these standards. They are increasingly becoming aware of them, but don’t have full knowledge of the process yet. We want to show them what the design process looks like, what you can get from it and how to execute it to make it as cost- effective as possible for the client.

Bartosz Trzop: It’s worthwhile consulting an interior architect even if it’s only to save money or spend it where it’s worth spending...

Konrad Krusiewicz, architect, designer and founder, The Design Group: Interior architecture is fast becoming a highly comprehensive activity aimed at transforming companies’ offices. The designers are expected to do much more, with their function being not just to complete the design but also to be a consultant for the entire process – but the rates for our services in this sector have been at a standstill for years. Through this association, we would like to inform people about the services they could require from the designer and at what rates. Most of the current market is based on marketing. Artificial concepts and theories are being developed in order to create artificial needs and sell goods. This can mislead clients and result in an inadequate range of options in terms of what clients actually need. In our opinion, the interior architect is the most impartial part of the design process. Retailers have a product that they want to sell, so they generate new needs according to the rule: first create the need and then you will be able to sell the product. However, tenants’ needs are different and they depend on their business profile. For example, how flexible the office space needs to be and in what way will be different for each company.

Bartosz Trzop: An interior architect can act as an independent consultant for a client. They can advise them on whether it’s worthwhile giving a particular format to an office, whether it will be functional and, of course, also making the company aware of the costs. We would also like to educate those who are involved in the design of offices and those would like to do so. Polish regulations on workplaces are often illogical and outdated and have been failing to keep up with the rapidly developing changes in the way the work is done. This is particularly evident when designing co-working space. So we would like to use the association to lobby for positive changes to the law.

Zbigniew Kostrzewa: We also have to remember that the way the needs of tenants are determined through surveys by companies analysing the work environment is not always effective and therefore doesn’t contribute any relevant information to the design process. The results of such research need to be translated into specific systems. And here lies the problem – sometimes these results are worthless and not transferable to the real world. We would like to devise standards that will enable us to determine how the results of such research should be so that the interior architect and the client can use them sensibly. It’s important that the research into the work environment actually translates into changes in the work space.

Konrad Krusiewicz: We are also considering teaming up with universities to share our knowledge of the office design field with them. This has already become a significant part of the interior architecture field and, in my opinion, is one of the most interesting aspects of it. It has been said that in building design the interior design process takes up 10 pct of the time, whereas 90 pct of the time is spent on official matters. In office design the ratio is more balanced. And the effects can be seen sooner, too.

How are modern offices being designed these days?

Zbigniew Kostrzewa: There is confusion on the market over what the concept of a modern office actually is. In my opinion, most offices are created from the same mould – and it’s only the decor that changes. Many people imagine that a modern office just boils down to telephone booths and meeting rooms. This is a complete misunderstanding.

Konrad Krusiewicz: There’s also a lot of talk about designing offices in a sustainable way but less about what it should look like in practice – for example, how to improve the air quality, how to design the lighting and how to ensure you have the right acoustics. More and more systems are becoming available that make it possible to design space responsibly – and this needs to be more widely discussed and introduced.

Bartosz Trzop: Office design is a multifaceted process, during which the architect moves between conditions and technical systems, legal requirements, installations, the functional programme as well as the aesthetic aspects. Therefore it’s not just about ‘moving the furniture around’, as some see it, but a comprehensive design process where leaving a single element out at any stage will result in a non-functional and incompatible office, as opposed to an innovative and ‘tailor-made’ office that makes the company work better.

What does a modern office actually look like?

Zbigniew Kostrzewa: We are on the verge of a global change in the approach to work. Companies are evolving so quickly that they’re not even able to give us an indication of the designs they need. With a larger project it isn’t possible to find out the design assumptions for the office because nobody knows what the company will even look like in a year or two. Things are changing at such a pace that corporations are changing the fields in which they operate within a few months. For instance, in two years a bank could be focused on enhancing its technology development to prepare for a potential change in the way banking is done. The technological revolution has become unstoppable and companies know that if they cannot embrace innovation, then they are in danger of going under. Technological progress will force us to change the way we work, while some professions will be made obsolete by it. Offices will evolve towards creative spaces in which new ideas will be formed and refined. This is already happening in co-working. But many people still don’t take co-working seriously. In my opinion, the majority perceive co-working as incubators of new ideas, but in fact they are taking over as the driving force of large developed companies.

Bartosz Trzop: Typical open space is already disappearing – and may soon vanish completely from many sectors...

Zbigniew Kostrzewa: We would also like to develop a new trend in the thinking about offices – that of the mobile office, which can be modified when they are in use without any disruption. It should be pointed out that significant changes are also about to take place in the design and management of buildings due to the onward march of technology. This will result from the popularisation of the BIM system. This technology is already being employed at the design stage, as it helps in the construction process and to facilitate the use of the building. Just by using a laptop, you can control the whole building or even several buildings. If you add machine-learning to it, you can automate and optimise the servicing of your entire building portfolio. This system knows when a filter or a bulb needs to be replaced, and how to save on bills. This translates into real savings for owners, whereas buildings without such systems will be more capital-intensive and, as a result, they will become less competitive as an investment.

Objectives of the association

1.
The development and promotion of professional standards and ethics among interior architects involved in office design.

2.
The development of standards for the proper design of office space based on global standards and Polish law.

3.
The promotion of functional, environmentally-friendly and innovative systems for offices.

4.
The promotion of office space approaches based on Well certificate principles.

5.
Educating interior architecture students in the field of office space design.

6.
The popularisation of healthy work environments across Poland.

7.
Increasing investors’ awareness of how a functional and healthy office should be.

8.
Educating investors on the correct processes for creating a new office.

9.
Enhancing investors’ awareness of the role of the interior architect in the office design process.

10.
The integration of all the players in this sector.

11.
Reviewing designs and office space systems.

12.
Adapting and updating workplace legal regulations to suit new working methods, such as those stemming from the development of new technology – in order to ensure the regulations reflect the current needs of users.