2024 Workplace Design Trends

Employee wellness, both physical and mental, will continue to play a central role in workplace design. Poor wellbeing amongst your workforce can lead to burnout, a reduction in productivity, and ultimately it can lead to a drop in employee retention, so it’s important to prioritise it in your design. Offering a range of workspaces throughout the office to allow for activity-based working will become the norm, as will adding dedicated spaces for relaxation and mindfulness.

Research shows that natural light and indoor greenery play an important role in physical and mental health, so we expect that this will be incorporated throughout the design of a space. Similarly, gone are the days of a stark white office environment. Designers will make use of a range of colours that will enhance wellbeing and stimulate productivity and creativity.

Sustainability is more than just a passing trend - it is a growing concern and should be a fundamental part of any project. Research has shown that the built environment accounts for 40% of total UK greenhouse emissions, and we believe that workplaces in 2024 will make use of sustainable and eco-friendly materials and practices, with many aiming for carbon neutrality or BREEAM certification.

Rather than starting from scratch, it will become more common to reuse existing materials and appliances when designing a new space. Appliances will be chosen based on their longevity, and future-proof tech will result in less waste sent to landfill. Clever design tricks mean that even when using repurposed materials, the space will look completely new, and as well as being more eco-friendly, circularity in design can also be a money saver.

Technology is advancing more quickly than ever, and new innovations will play a notable role in workplace design in 2024 and beyond. Commercial interiors will increasingly use elements of smart technology, with features like touchless controls, IoT integration and digital management platforms to remotely control thing like lighting and heating. This can help enhance the workplace experience for employees, but it can also reduce costs and limit the impact a business has on the environment.

These technological advances will help support the workforce and will improve efficiencies in the workplace, but architects will need to seamlessly integrate these features into their schemes in a professional way that doesn’t compromise the overall design of the space. By embracing technology, employers will be able to create more welcoming, functional and memorable workplaces, and we think it will be one of the biggest trends of the next few years.

Flexibility will be key in 2024 as businesses adapt to changing work patterns. The days of being sat at the same desk for 40 hours a week are long gone. Activity-based working has become the norm, and most workers are only in the office part time. Because of this, flexible and multifunctional design is paramount. Reconfigurable spaces allow for flexibility to meet the needs of the entire workforce, with modular furniture, open layouts and movable partitions playing an important role.

Multifunctional design goes beyond just flexible furniture, and versatility in design means that spaces can serve several purposes. For example, a meeting room could be transformed into a wellbeing space for yoga classes or meditation, and an open layout could be sectioned into smaller zones to allow for informal team meetings. Above all, the design will prioritise creating spaces that work for the employees and that facilitate collaboration.

We all know the importance of the coffee machine in the office, but did you know that 2023 was the year that coffee officially overtook tea to become the UK’s favourite beverage? With this in mind, and with surveys showing that coffee and beverage facilities are consistently ranked as one of the most important aspects of the workplace, it’s crucial to get the office coffee experience right. When executed well, a design that embraces coffee culture can mean that the office coffee machine can be a hub for collaboration and connection.

The under-counter design of super-automatic commercial coffee machines like TopBrewer means that architects and designers can seamlessly integrate them into the space in a clever and thoughtful way. Without the worry of where to hide a bulky tabletop machine, the coffee machine can become a central part of the space to enhance the workplace experience and provide barista-quality coffee without compromising on design. A strategically placed coffee machine can lead to increased collaboration, improved wellbeing and stronger relationships as colleagues catch up over a cup of their favourite coffee.