As the world is coping with the drastic results of climate change, Most businesses are realizing the emergency requirement of adapting sustainable materials and practices. This transformation should extend beyond simple gestures and should include all operations, including the design of the office interior.
An office interior designer in bangalore can create a sustainable workplace that prioritizes resource conservation and environmental sustainability throughout its lifecycle. This space will reduce the ecological footprint and also promote employee wellness.
Offices with sustainable materials and practices can reap immense benefits, including improved employee productivity and health, decreased energy costs and consumption, environmental regulation compliance, improved brand reputation, and many more.
How is Workplace Design Going Green with Sustainable Materials and Practices?
In today’s world of heightened environmental consciousness, reputed architects and Office interior designers in Bangalore are always promoting sustainable workplace design.
By embracing a holistic approach and harnessing creative prowess, designers are redefining workplace concepts and converting them into sustainability beacons. Below are some of the most popular ways to design an office that incorporates sustainable materials and practices.
- Space audit
Conduct a thorough audit of the office space to examine the current utilization of the total area. Recognize unused areas such as empty workstations, uncluttered common rooms, unused meeting rooms, and more.
- Open plan areas
Include open planning areas to foster communications, collaboration, and a sense of community among employees. Open-plan spaces can encourage interaction and movement, promoting a healthy and active working environment.
- Maximizing the window segments
Increase the window areas for ample penetration of natural light. This will help you rely less on artificial lighting, improve energy-saving capacity, and create an inviting and natural work environment.
- Replace the virgin resources with recycled materials.
Try to incorporate recycled materials as much as possible during renovation or construction. Purchase used office furnishings. This will extend the existing material’s lifecycle and decrease the demand for virgin resources.
- Embodied Energy
Embodied energy is the total energy necessary to extract, transport, install, and process a material. Research the embodied energy of various materials to make informed choices. This will help decrease the overall office energy footprint.
- Use LED lights
Energy-efficient LED bulbs consume much less energy than traditional fluorescent and incandescent bulbs, leading to a substantial decrease in electricity consumption. LED bulbs also have a long lifespan, so frequent replacements are not necessary.
- Install Programmable thermostats and occupancy sensors.
Occupancy sensors automatically turn off the lights whenever no one is present in the area, preventing unwanted energy wastage. Programmable thermostats precisely control the cooling and heating schedules, ensuring a comfortable environment for the employees and optimizing energy use.
- Energy-saving centric settings
Electronics like monitors and computers include energy-saving modes to decrease energy consumption when not in use. Spread awareness among your employees to allow these settings and power off the electronics when they are not using them.
- Use Low-flow fixtures
Low-flow faucets limit water flow without compromising functionality. This will significantly decrease water consumption. Select faucets with aerators, which mix water with air and create a forceful stream by using less water.
- Gather rainwater for non-potable usage.
With the help of rainwater harvesting systems, you can gather rainwater from rooftops and store it in cisterns and tanks for later use. You can use this rainwater for non-potable purposes like flushing toilets, landscaping irrigation, cleaning, sweeping the floors, and more. Rainwater collection and harvesting can decrease complete reliance on the municipality’s water supply.
- Maintenance Program
It is necessary to regularly monitor the pipes, water-using appliances, plumbing fixtures, and other areas for leaks. If leaks remain unnoticed for a long time, they will lead to a lot of water wastage. Thus, quickly address all leaks to reduce water loss.
- Establish water streams
Create separate waste receptacles for various water streams like plastic, glass, paper, food scraps, and metal. Label every receptacle clearly for an appropriate segregation of the waste.
- Designate various waste collection points.
Place waste-collecting receptacles strategically throughout the office. This will make it hassle-free for the employees to properly dispose of the waste.
- Implement reusable water bottles.
Offer a filtered water fountain and encourage the team members to use reusable water bottles. This will help decrease the usage of disposable plastic bottles and cups.
- Consider downsizing or re-organizing
Depending on the findings of the space audit, reorganize the office design for better usage of the current space. It might include consolidating the workstations, downsizing the entire office footprint, or relocating the departments.
- Private Offices
Along with open-plan areas, there should also be quiet workplaces or private offices for employees who need individual concentration. These spaces are ideal for focused work as there are fewer distractions.
- Light reflective surfaces
Use light-reflective surfaces like light-colored ceilings, furniture, walls, and more. This will improve the distribution of natural light and further decrease the artificial light requirements.
- Improve renewable resources
Select furnishings and building materials made from renewable resources that can be naturally replenished. This will further lower the office’s carbon footprint.
Summing it up
An Office interior designer in Bangalore can act as a steward of building a sustainable working environment. They can set the perfect stage for a green world and drive positive change. Businesses can play their part by fostering coexistence between human beings and nature, making sure of a better future for our upcoming generations.
