Pavel Mrázek is the founder of the company It's a Hezkey, which deals with the design and implementation of both commercial and residential interiors. We interviewed Pavel on the topic of office design, which his company specializes in.
You have been designing interiors for more than 8 years. Can you tell how office design has changed since you started designing interiors?
Companies are becoming more and more aware that the work environment matters and that their people are their biggest asset worth investing in. Environment Affects Efficiency employees and thus the performance of the company.
When we started our company, there was already talk of the “death” of open space, which critics say was created with the aim of saving costs and constant control. Of course, this phenomenon has not died down, because most companies do not want to operate in smaller enclosed offices, which are also not good for building a corporate culture. But more and more companies are finding that the classic open space doesn't really work.
What are the main differences? What has changed the most?
The growth of work and “home” — this is related to the rise of the home office, where companies operate in a hybrid way (some people work in the office, some at home). The modern working environment simply means no longer just an office chair and a large backlit desk, but more possibilities — in addition to the classic workstation, for example, bar or lounge seating for shorter work or the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in a multifunctional workshop room or relaxation zone.
What was the biggest trend in office design at the time? And what trends do you observe today?
Back then, there was a time when the really high bar was set by Google and other tech companies that started to frame offices as a place you don't want to leave. In addition to the colorful environment full of various corners, the facilities for employees function as a dining room and a gym, so that employees do not actually have a reason to leave the company. From this concept, a lot of people and business owners have remembered rather the minor but attractive details — playrooms and slides between floors. They often wanted to be involved in their companies as well.
A continuing trend is a greater emphasis on spaces outside the workstation, so different relaxation zones and kitchens with seating where colleagues can meet informally or work for a while.
The pandemic has changed everyone, not least the offices. Some still languish today because employees still work from the home office. Recently, have companies come to you more often with requests to design offices that employees will be happy to return to again?
Certainly -- management doesn't like the sight of empty offices. In addition, according to surveys — such as by CBRE, which was conducted in 8 countries in Central and Southern Europe, including the Czech Republic — 48% of people prefer to combine working from home with office work. Enlightened firms are beginning to understand the need to revamp offices and adapt them to a hybrid style of work.
Otherwise, they will continue to pay large sums for unused space. And most importantly, they will lose talents who prefer to work in a pleasant work environment that allows them to be flexible.
How do you create offices that are adapted to a hybrid work style?
We begin by identifying management needs. We then connect everything with the possibilities of space and budget and mix our know-how and experience there.
We aim to create offices that enable people to perform at their best. Each profession has specific requirements — for example, for more creative professions such as marketing, a coworking type of work is suitable — employee may not have a permanent workplace, but will appreciate variable zones, closed call booths and online meetings. Alongside this, accountants and lawyers, for example, still prefer a closed office for their largely independent work.
What is central to the modification of offices to the now popular flexi office model?
Flexible office is a concept of layout work environmentthat will allow the company to respond quickly to the current situation. For example, when a company grows, when it has to lay off part of the people or when there is a need to organize a company-wide meeting. For these purposes, they do not need a giant conference room, but they can simply rearrange, for example, a relaxation zone. The space can be simply rearranged using mobile dividing elements and furniture.
What is the difference between flexi office and smart office?
Smart office is typically associated primarily with the transition from permanent fixed workstations — one chair and large desk per employee — to a system of so-called floating jobs, which employees either book online or simply sit down where there is a place. It works with the idea that the employee does not have to sit in one place all day. Part of the day he works with the team in the meeting room and for a couple of hours he just has to sit down to an elevated bar session or a relaxation zone. With the transition to smart office, the company can reduce the space reserved for offices by more than 20% and then devote the saved space to common areas, or rent the saved space.
Today it goes to model smart office even more conservative companies, such as the head office of Komerční banka.
Interest in office design is growing.
Why should a company consider converting a standard office environment (most often an open space) into a flexi office? What are the main advantages of this type of office?
The flexible office is suitable for any company that wants to be able to react quickly to changes. The starting point for flexible offices is to avoid construction interventions as much as possible and, for example, to solve room partitions with furniture or green walls that can be easily rearranged. The main thing is for the client to invest in his property, not in a rented solution. Therefore, it can also be an interesting investment in a portable telephone booth, which is not always cheap, but can be easily moved when moving to new premises.
Another advantage is better use of existing space. For example, for Heureka we have created a relaxation zone in which you can relax, eat lunch, work or have a quick meeting in one moment. The space can be rearranged and used for a company-wide meeting or yoga class.
How do you think it is possible to make the office interesting in design and at the same time practical to use?
The task of a skilled architect or interior designer is to combine it well. It is definitely worth investing in offices and not leaving their solutions to implementing companies, which are limited by the range supplied and often do not have the necessary know-how.
Moreover, design-interesting does not necessarily equal expensive. However, I would not recommend embarking on the search for a suitable solution without a specialist.
How popular are the so-called chill out zones in the company's premises these days?
They are becoming more and more popular! And we like to suggest them. They make even more sense with the transition to smart office and hybrid work. It does not have to just have a rest function. You can work in them or organize team meetings.
Many companies attract applicants in job advertisements for table football in the workplace, but the reality is different — no one actually has time for it, and the soccer ball mostly goes unused. How to design a chill out zone so that it is actually beneficial for employees?
It is worth buying a football only for a company where employees are not afraid to play it. It's about corporate culture. For many companies, where there is a strict work culture, this is unnecessary. For companies in which informal relationships and trust work, this can be a good initiator of meeting and relaxing.
Thanks to the flexible office design, the company can save more than 20% of its office space.
Do you also design so-called fitness zones in companies?
A separate fitness zone makes sense either for larger companies that want to keep employees on their premises for as long as possible, or for IT firms and startups that want to promote their corporate culture or differentiate themselves from the competition.
But what makes sense for many companies is the possibility of creating a space for a yoga class or group exercise. This space can be created, for example, in a relaxation zone, where a quick rearrangement of furniture creates free space.
What price range are your office designs in? How much should a company with 100 employees prepare if it decides to change the office from a shabby open space to a modern flexi office?
Of course, this depends on the current state of affairs and what of the current equipment can be used. Such a very rough price anchor is about 10 thousand crowns plus VAT per square meter of remodeled premises. However, it can move both ways according to customer requirements. We are here to use the customer's resources as efficiently as possible and the customer only invests in what makes sense. Alternatively, it can also be reconstructed in stages, gradually freeing up resources. But the basis is a quality interior project.
