How to Create a Seamless Indoor-Outdoor Office Environment
Many newer homes are designed with indoor-outdoor living in mind, especially in Arizona where the sun shines seemingly every day. The sweltering heat of summer makes most people want to retreat indoors, but even just a short time in the sun can improve mood, creativity, productivity, and more.
The indoor-outdoor concept isn’t limited to residential homes. As many companies focusing on employee health and well-being, they’re looking for fun and unique ways to design office spaces that meet requirements for the job to be done, as well as elements that will make for more satisfied workers.
Table of Contents
What is an Indoor-Outdoor Office Environment?
Biophilic Design
How to Implement Biophilic Design
Natural Lighting
Plants
Water Features
Natural Materials
Going Outside
Rooftop Gardens or Green Roofs
Balconies
Patios
Courtyards
Cooling Off
The In-Between Space
Taking the Office Outside
Wi-Fi
Cloud Storage
Video Calls & Instant Messaging Platforms
Laptops
Cell Phones
Tablets
A Note About Breaks
Final Thoughts
What is an Indoor-Outdoor Office Environment?
This could me a couple things: an office that focuses on biophilic design, a design theory that brings in plants, living walls, or building workspaces around natural light. It can also mean giving employees access to outdoor workspaces. Allowing employees to work outside in a courtyard or patio area gives them the connection to nature everyone craves while still getting the job done.
If the latter is what you’re going for, you’’ll want to plan for strong Wi-Fi, laptops, or other mobile devices to keep employees connected while they’re not at their desk.
Biophilic Design
The biophilia hypothesis (BET) suggests humans have an innate tendency to seek out connect with nature and life forms other than humans, and biophilic design is based on this idea. Incorporate natural elements like plants, water features, and living walls for a calming, soothing effect inside the office.
How to Implement Biophilic Design
If your office doesn’t have easy access to outdoor spaces, bring the outdoors in! There are several things you can add or take advantage of to add elements of the natural environment to an otherwise stark office.
Natural Lighting
If your office has windows or sliding glass doors leading to outside, take advantage of that natural light source. Group workstations near these areas for maximum exposure, but not so much that it bounces off of computer monitors and causes glare.
Plants
Does your office have a large planter box near the entrance? Perhaps a smaller wall area where nothing else fits? Take advantage of these spaces and add various house plants or flowers. That large planter at the entrance can be filled with a number of plants that bring the outdoors in, clean the air, and help boost morale and productivity. The wall space that has gone unused can host a living wall, with plants, flowers, or even a small vertical garden. Use the produce from that vertical garden to stock healthy options in a break room or kitchenette.
Additionally, studies have shown that even artificial plants have a positive effect – just the thought of being connected to nature is enough of a boost.
Water Features
The sound of running water from a natural source can be relaxing. Small fountains or water features placed strategically near workspaces evoke peace and tranquility, relieve stress, and improve cognitive function, among other benefits.
Natural Materials
During your initial build-out or office renovation project, consider adding natural building materials. Wood floors, cork, and more are natural building materials that help bring the outdoors in and help employees connect with nature, even subconsciously.
Going Outside
The alternative to bringing biophilic design inside your office is taking your office outside. Actually being in the natural environment is even better than trying to emulate it inside. But there are things you need to have in place to be able to allow employees the freedom to head outside but also get their work done.
Rooftop Gardens or Green Roofs
Give employees the opportunity to go outside as well as interact with nature in an urban office environment. Creating a garden or green roof atop the building is an excellent way to expose employees to the nature they crave while sticking close to the office.
Additionally, employees can help cultivate plants, fruits, or veggies to feel even closer to nature. If your green roof includes a garden, bring that food into the office break room for a healthy alternative for packaged foods.
Balconies
If your office building has a balcony or balconies, encourage employees to take advantage. Stepping out onto the balcony for a break, or packing up a laptop and cell phone and enjoying work outdoors allows employees mobility as well as access to natural light, fresh air, and greenery while still completing work tasks.
Patios
Hand-in-hand with balconies, patios offer employees a place to take a break or work in the fresh air and sunshine. Patios can be located on the ground floor, rooftops, or somewhere in between on a high-rise complex.
Whether you have access to balcony or patio space, make sure there is appropriate furniture for either relaxation or work. You’ll want to choose furniture made from materials that can withstand the weather as well as provide a comfortable workspace.
Courtyards
These outdoor spaces offer plenty of natural light and surroundings. Courtyards can be big or small and are centrally-located at the ground floor of an office complex or building.
Set up courtyard workspaces just as you would those on patios or balconies. Make sure there is plenty of comfortable seating that encourages both work and break time.
Cooling Off
When working outside in the heat and sun of Arizona, it’s necessary to retreat to a cool, shady place once in a while. When setting up spaces that encourage employees to step outside for work or leisure, make sure there are ways to cool down other than heading back inside.
Providing patio umbrellas near work spaces, mister systems, and trees that provide shade makes your outdoor work space tenable no matter the weather.
The In-Between Space
An atrium is a large, open-air or skylight-covered spaces surrounded by a building. This means the atrium in your office building could be several stories high! No matter how tall it is, an atrium allows exposure to natural light through the skylights, or fresh air and natural light in the case of open-air structures.
Atria often feature plenty of greenery, from house plants and potted trees to planted trees reaching the top of the structure. They can be the definition of an indoor-outdoor office design, since the building and its offices are built around the atrium space, rather than a landscaped area after construction is complete.
Taking the Office Outside
Companies that are serious about an indoor-outdoor office will have to take some steps to achieve such a goal and without much lag in productivity. Here are just a few things to consider before taking work beyond the walls of the office:
Wi-Fi
Staying connected wherever you are is a necessity for just about any business. You’ll need to make sure your office or office building has a strong Wi-Fi connection that can reach beyond the walls of the office to keep employees connected without having to use hot spots or data plans. A strong Wi-Fi signal is necessary when devices are not hard wired to a network.
Cloud Storage
If employees are working together on a project or need to be able to access their work from more than one device, investing in cloud storage is a must. Employees can create their own files as well as shared files (which often require permission/invitation to access) so they can access the work from their desk indoors, their laptop outside, or their tablet or phone while out in the field.
Video Calls & Instant Messaging Platforms
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, offices closed and employees were sent home, but work needed to continue. Colleagues used cloud storage for file sharing, as well as video calling softwares and instant messaging platforms to stay in touch or hold update meetings.
Some companies choose to use instant messaging platforms even when all employees are in-office. This is especially true for companies that take up multiple office suites on multiple floors, or need to communicate with offices in other parts of town or across the country.
Laptops
When employees are away from the office but still doing work, a laptop is typically the device of choice to stay connected. A 15” or larger laptop with the right capabilities for the job is essential for doing the job well while working and enjoying the outside at the same time.
This can be a significant investment for companies that didn’t previously offer such amenities. You’ll have to decide if you want to assign one to each employee, or you’ll buy only a handful to get you started. Keep in mind your whole workforce won’t be heading outside all at once!
Cell Phones
You could ask your employees to keep their personal cell phones on them at all times while working outside, or, like laptops, you can choose to invest in phones for all employees or a handful to be used by whomever decides to take in some fresh air. Some things to think about include:
– Keeping track of employees’ phone numbers (either personal or company issued)
– Shared phones should be checked out and logged to specific employees to ensure the proper person is being contacted
– Business expense (your employees can write off a portion of their personal cell phone bill if used for business)
Tablets
A final mobile device to outfit your employees with may be a tablet. While not necessary if you’re providing laptops, smaller tablets are often more mobile and easier to reference in a field situation than a laptop. Much like cell phones and laptops they’re an investment and you’ll have to evaluate their usefulness and necessity before purchase.
A Note About Breaks
Breaks are a time for employees to step away from work. You can provide a break room, kitchenette, wellness room, and other indoor features, but encouraging employees to step outside for a while or eat lunch outdoors is also a way to achieve an indoor-outdoor office experience.
Encourage the separation between employee and workspace, rather than pushing deadlines that will keep employees chained to their desks and working through lunch or break time.
Final Thoughts
Creating a work environment where employees feel comfortable is paramount when it comes to happy, healthy, productive employees. Giving them an opportunity to interact with the natural world while still getting their work done is an important step in ensuring office harmony.
Once you know your plans for indoor-outdoor work, we at Realty Asset Advisors can help you create the space or spaces you and your workers desire
Contact us today!
