flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Maximizing office square footage through ‘agile planning’

Office Buildings

Maximizing office square footage through ‘agile planning’

As more and more businesses look to maximum their square footage, the design model for agile offices may help enhance multifunctionality.


By Lauren Elliott, RID, NCIDQ | Design Collaborative | September 16, 2024
Agile office
Photo courtesy Design Collaborative

Agile planning is a popular workspace model that provides a flexible and adaptable layout design, while giving employees complete choice over their work setting. This planning model also easily accommodates changes in function or space usage over time.

In a previous post, we broke down the “Five Primary Models for Maximum Efficiency and Productivity.” As more and more businesses look to maximum their square footage, let’s take a deeper dive into one of the more popular models: Agile planning—also known as immersive planning.

Benefits of an Agile Plan

Agile planning is often applied in workspaces where the needs of occupants may evolve or where multifunctionality is desired. This model also lets occupants choose the work setting that is most appropriate for their workload that day.

  • Supports both in-person and hybrid work models
  • Allows employees to choose the work setting that best supports the tasks at hand
  • Gives 100% ownership of where you work, how you work
  • Reduces square footage by eliminating the number of dedicated workspaces
  • Provides accessible and intuitive technology throughout the office

 

Agile office
Photo courtesy Design Collaborative


3 Zones of an Agile Office

Agile designs provide spaces for community, group, and individual work.

  • Community spaces focus on social gathering and provide shared amenities. They can enrich the culture and provide spaces for employees to recharge throughout the workday
  • Group zones encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing. These areas can be set up with diverse seating types in open or enclosed spaces and help bridge the gap between in-person and remote staff
  • Individual areas allow employees to focus and keep their heads down in a respected quiet zone while they work. Unassigned workstations provide privacy as needed, where needed, while shared private offices and privacy pods offer flexible solutions to changing employee needs


Successful Implementation

A global insurance organization adopted a “work how you want, where you want” policy with a desire to reduce its footprint and create a space that supports a hybrid work model. By selecting an agile plan, the company was able to provide variety and choice of work settings while utilizing an unassigned neighborhood concept.

Furthermore, the company was able to decrease its square footage needs by more than half while increasing the employee capacity served through in-office and remote environments.

Features and statistics of agile offices
Photo courtesy Design Collaborative


Making the Change

If you’re considering an office remodel or build and want to determine if an agile plan is the right fit for your company, consider what impactful spaces your workforce needs.

  • Utilize surveys to collect staff feedback and understand the needs for all employees
  • Conduct space utilization reviews to observe how the space is used. What is under-utilized? What gets the most use?
  • Host a town hall to get all staff buy in, provide an open forum and engage the team.

Interested in learning more? Check out our featured workplace projects to see how other companies have chosen to maximize their workspaces and position themselves for success.

Agile office cafeteria
Photo courtesy Design Collaborative
 

More from Author

Design Collaborative | Aug 5, 2024

Mastering the art of project schedule: Expert insights on design and construction

We sat down with two experts in the design field, Ron Dick (Founding Partner and Architect) and Mike Niezer (COO and Architect), to talk about everything you need to know about the entire process.

Design Collaborative | Jul 1, 2024

Mastering office layouts: 5 primary models for maximum efficiency and productivity

When laying out an office, there are many factors to consider. It’s important to maximize the space, but it’s equally important to make sure the design allows employees to work efficiently.

Design Collaborative | Jun 3, 2024

Escalation: Predicting project costs in a volatile market

Thad Berkes, Chief Cost Estimator, Design Collaborative, shares that one of the major hurdles that Design Collaborative attempts to forecast for its commercial construction projects is escalation.

Design Collaborative | Mar 4, 2024

Illuminating your path to energy efficiency

Design Collaborative's Kelsey Rowe, PE, CLD, shares some tools, resources, and next steps to guide you through the process of lighting design.

Design Collaborative | Feb 1, 2024

Prioritizing water quality with the WELL Building Standard

In this edition of Building WELLness, DC WELL Accredited Professionals Hannah Arthur and Alex Kircher highlight an important item of the WELL Building Standard: water.

Design Collaborative | Jan 19, 2024

How to strengthen office design as employees return to work

Adam James, AIA, Senior Architect, Design Collaborative, shares office design tips for the increasingly dynamic workplace.

Design Collaborative | Dec 12, 2023

Transforming workplaces for employee mental health

Lauren Elliott, Director of Interior Design, Design Collaborative, shares practical tips and strategies for workplace renovation that prioritizes employee mental health.

Design Collaborative | Nov 2, 2023

3 fundamental steps to crafting the ideal branch

Jared Monce, AIA, Architect, Design Collaborative, shares three guidelines when designing branches for financial institutions.

Design Collaborative | Oct 9, 2023

Design solutions for mental health as a secondary diagnosis

Rachel Vedder, RA, LEED AP, Senior Architect, Design Collaborative, shares two design solutions for hospitals treating behavioral health patients.

Design Collaborative | Aug 1, 2023

Creating a nurturing environment: The value of a mother’s room in the workplace

Since becoming an architect, Rebecca Martin of Design Collaborative has drawn a mother’s room into numerous projects. But it wasn't until she became a mom that she fully appreciated their importance in the workspace.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Sustainable Design and Construction

Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure

Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.


MFPRO+ News

San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown. 



Government Buildings

OSHA’s proposed heat standard published in Federal Register

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed standard addressing heat illness in outdoor and indoor settings in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would require employers to evaluate workplaces and implement controls to mitigate exposure to heat through engineering and administrative controls, training, effective communication, and other measures.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021