Corporate Market Trends: The corporate sector is focused on humanizing the workplace - Mar 2018

STAINED CONCRETE STILL HAS A STRONGHOLD
More than one individual that we interviewed mentioned, with a note of frustration, that stained concrete has a strong, and possibly strengthening, hold in corporate workplaces. The trend is related to aesthetics and cost savings-or perceived cost savings-but also to the power of cool. Associated with the pared-down hipness of the high tech workspace-not to mention the highly desirable laid-back approach toward work within those organizations-exposed concrete has become almost a symbolic element used to align an organization with a particular brand of freshness.

Concrete offers sustainable benefits too, of course, as its use eliminates the production, installation and, ultimately, disposal of floorcovering. And, interestingly, several product designers noted that it is sometimes grouped-at least mentally-among natural materials and therefore included in projects with a biophilic bent. Of course, concrete is a mixture of gravel, sand, water and cement-a limestone and clay mixture-but it is certainly not a naturally occurring product of the earth, like hardwood and stone are, so it ultimately seems like something of a third wheel in this classification.

One would think that, as the focus of sustainable workplaces has turned somewhat from composition and manufacturing to wellness, concrete would be deselected. After all, it’s loud, cold, slippery and uncomfortable underfoot. And with the focus on movement and standing in the workplace, it seems a poor choice. But perhaps the mental boon of the hip factor is, at least for now, outweighing those negatives.

Says Gilbert, “We are seeing concrete more and more. Our sales reps are the best indicators for us on what’s happening in the field, and they say, ‘concrete is killing us.’ But the cost of concrete is going up, and we are seeing so many projects where they say, ‘We need to at least add some carpet in these areas.’ With all the concrete, I believe we’re going to see more acoustic wall treatments come into play-especially in pods. I suppose, looking forward, the good news is that concrete is easy to carpet over.”

There are reportedly instances in which concrete is being specified initially and then reconsidered after the employee team has “lived” on it for a spell. “There was a project in Chicago where the design team specified stained concrete,” recalls Gillen. “I warned them that it would be loud, but they said, ‘We will try it, and it will look beautiful in the [architectural] photos.’”

The flooring industry is, of course, responding to the demand for concrete looks with floorcovering products that feature the visual, primarily in LVT and ceramic. And these remediate some of the challenges of the actual material.

THE PEOPLE-CENTRIC WORKSPACE

Says Gillen, “Corporate spaces today are people-centric. And wellness is certainly part of the discussion. Some corporations are choosing to blend in spaces in which they offer a stretch program during the day that helps employees adjust and meditate. Another trend is taking the stairs. Some corporate offices create incentives for people to do that, so they are making stairwells that look nicer.”

Gillen points to Atlassian’s Austin office as a space that she finds inspiring and representative of many of the office design concepts held dear today. Entry to the space reveals a grand stair between three floors around which the business has established a collision space.

“When you walk in, it feels like a café, not an office,” Gillen explains. “It is truly a gathering space because all those landings are opportunities to collaborate. There is a yoga room, a wellness room, a green wall with succulents, an open multifunction room, a library with modern wingback chairs that has a cozy feel and offers an incredible view of the city. There are conferencing booths and pods in which to conduct video chats. The workspaces have all windows walls and feature casters on all the furniture so that the configuration can be changed as needed, and cabling comes down from the ceiling so that it can be easily plugged into.”

The concept of sustainable workplaces has shifted somewhat from earlier days of the movement where the focus was on material composition and origin. Make no mistake, those elements are still important, but today the lens through which we view our sustainable course of action is in considering how workplaces-and the materials used to construct them-impact the humans working within them. Says Reesie Duncan, creative director for Shaw Contract Group, “Sustainability today is definitely about human health and human quality of life, wellness, comfort, community, indoor air quality, daylight, plants-they’re all playing together. Elements that promote interaction between humans and nature are important in spaces where people are spending such long periods of time.”

And, of course, a significant part of creating a human-centered workplace is providing elements that make the humans within it happy on a fundamental level. Oakey points out that today, the Facebooks and Googles of the world are “on the leading edge of making sure that they have spaces where workers are happy, spaces that are flexible and promote wellbeing. They may have started in a garage with a keg of beer and a foosball table; today, they have a game room, five-star catering and 24/7 access.” He notes that he is seeing these “techy trends” move into other industries, often out of necessity, adding, “The one we’ve been following most recently is financial-banking and hedge funds. They are having a hard time recruiting the tech people that they need because their offices are more formal, not as creative and not as casual.”

PROVIDING THE RIGHT PRODUCTS
To equip designers with the products they need to create these highly diversified spaces, flooring manufacturers must not only roll out more product choices but also more mindfully designed ones. As spaces are being used to tell a story about the culture of a company, the products used within are the elements that build that story-the words, sentences and formatting, as it were.

Explains Duncan, “In creating products for the corporate market, we step back and consider our drivers. We are trying to help designers create spaces that foster connections, build communities and nourish comfort. We are always focused on the concept of a product and developing a real story behind the process. I’ve seen a shift in this regard-today, we’re focused on really digging into the ‘why’ for the customer and making sure that a product is answering some of the big questions. It’s kind of like meaning before matter.”

Oakey agrees, adding that just designing a product and putting it in an A&D folder won’t cut it these days. “You have to show how the product looks in the interior, coordinating products, how the designer can work with it,” he says. “It used to be that years ago, if we suggested to A&D how we thought a product could be installed, they would back off and say, ‘That’s our arena.’ But today young designers want us to show them what to do and how to use products. And we need to show as many adaptations and coordinations as possible. Today, introducing collections is more important, and we’re never designing a single product in a vacuum but considering how it works with older products and other surfaces.”

Creating cross coordination among its entire line is one of the central tenets of product development at Bentley. “We make sure that the neutrals we introduced three to four years ago can be combined with the elements we’re introducing today,” says Libby Cook, director of product development operations for Bentley.

“There is so much new and so much that people are trying to achieve in the corporate workplace today,” notes Duncan. “Work and life are merging, and we are creating spaces that feel comfortable but are also flexible. We are humanizing space in a more thoughtful way. We want to create independence but also encourage interaction, and there must be choice: places to retreat and those that build community and collaborative culture. All this makes us, as product designers, really have to think about how products work together seamlessly. No one wants a transition in a floor; we want flexible zones that can be reconfigured. We have to think about how products unite, from a level standpoint, regarding color and texture. It’s all about creating a system or toolbox.”

Several manufacturers talked about the significance of area rugs with so much hard surface flooring in the corporate workplace today. These may be bound broadloom, hospitality market rugs or carpet tile rugs, and they play an important role not only in managing acoustics and creating zones but also in building the comfort level.

MATERIALITY
In terms of how the trend toward residential looks is impacting flooring design, Cook says she is seeing the continuation of something that has been happening for a little while: the melding of the comfort of home with the office environment. “Lots of people are working from home today or doing a mix of both home-based and office work,” she says. “For that reason, employers want people to feel very comfortable in their work environments, and that level of comfort has a lot to do with texture. To create texture, we’re considering both how we use tufting machines and how we’re having yarn processed. We’re using different pile heights. We’re creating products that are very tactile-that are begging to be touched. There are new studies today quantifying the correlation between employee attitude and revenue, and one of the ways to improve employee attitude is to create a more comfortable work environment.” Cook adds that, understanding this, corporations are much more hands-on with regard to the design of their interior environments than they once were.

In addition, with so much activity and movement in the workplace today, it only makes sense that specifiers would give more thought to comfort underfoot. Though most of the manufacturers with whom we spoke have not yet seen this trend impacting specifications, Bentley notes that it is selling a lot of cushion-back carpet tile, which obviously adds a layer of comfort for those on their feet.

Another interesting consideration today has to do with wayfinding and walking paths. With more open offices-not to mention moveable furnishings-the walking paths are more varied than they would be in a traditional office with closed spaces and hallways. As such, patterning must assist in wayfinding as well as in the designation of particular areas of use across the floorscape. Color, scale of pattern and product transitions all play an important role in this regard.

With stained concrete in such demand, concrete-look products are also popular, especially in LVT. In addition, looks that blend concrete with other visuals such as wood, stone or fabrics are popular choices. According to Gillen, “We’re seeing an appreciation for materials that look like concrete but can morph, to some degree, and will be more reliable with regard to cracking and potential for other damage.”

Melanie Tatum, architectural sales representative for Crossville, notes the same trend in tile, with concrete and wood looks very popular. The company just released a line that mixes concrete and tweed visuals. She adds, “There is always a market for stone and concrete looks. In fact, concrete is our number one requested visual.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Oliver reports that he is seeing an increase in hardwood use in the corporate workplace, which plays into the residential trend. This is often commercial hardwood, though some choose a residentially rated hardwood, understanding that it will change and develop a particular patina with use.

Tatum reports that large format porcelain panels, such as Crossville’s Laminam, are in high demand for corporate use and are now the best-selling product in the Illinois market that she serves. The material is being used both in new installations and to clad old walls or flooring.