Design matters: designing offices for productivity, image and sustainability.

BOOSTING EMPLOYEE productivity can help businesses gain a competitive edge. But providing employees with the latest tools and equipment is just one avenue to that destination. A 2006 U.S. Workplace Survey conducted by Gensler, a global design consultancy, estimates that poor workplace design costs American businesses $330 billion annually in lost productivity.

Here are some of the latest trends in office design and furniture to watch, according to award-winning commercial interior designers and furniture manufacturers around Indiana.

Comfort, According to Rita Bacevich, principal of Schererville-based HDW Commercial Interiors, the buzzword in commercial interior design continues to be ergonomics. Established in 1991, HDW Commercial Interiors has been named best office interior design for 2005 and 2006 by the readers of Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly.

"In the past, many people bought furniture for a look or a price," says Bacevich. "Now people are willing to pay that extra price for something that is going to give them a more ergonomic work environment."

Kimball Office, a unit of Kimball International, recently launched Wish, an adjustable ergonomic task chair that reduces physical stress during extended periods of sitting. The Jasper-based company has won awards for several of its lines: Xsite frame-and-tile systems, Evoke casegoods, Aspire conference tables and Skye ergonomic executive desk seating. It also offers a variety of sit-stand desks and tables and furniture lines that optimize work surface and storage space.

"All of these products contribute to better workplace design, which in turn can drive employee excellence, business objectives and, ultimately, the bottom line," says Sandy Horton, director I of product line management for Kimball Office.

Space saving. Executive I offices and cubicles alike have been downsized during the past 10 years, initiating a wave of furniture design that maximize a compact workplace.

"With some systems you can fit eight cubicles in the space that once housed six," says Bacevich. "Now, you may think you are cramming these extra people in, but that is not the case. Manufacturers have designed these systems to save space and to keep employee comfort a top priority."

At a recent world trade show, Bacevich says furniture manufacturers introduced tables that fit under desks and can be pulled out to accommodate impromptu meetings.

Carol Payne, vice president of design and customer care for Indianapolis-based Business Furniture LLC, says businesses are embracing 120-degree planning--pods for three employees.

"It's a whole new way to think about space that opens it up to this whole teaming concept," says Payne. "We are making more bullpen type stations, so that people can interact with others and come together as a team right there in the workspace. I think that has had the biggest impact on our business."

Business Furniture LLC recently received an award from the Indiana chapter of the International Interior Design Association for its role as supporting vendor in the Finish Line project.

According to Payne, panel-less "post and beam" workstations not only aid communication, they place "plug-and-play" capabilities at the desktop level. This is especially important for "touch-down stations" that are not dedicated to specific individuals, but are available for consultants, salespeople and employees from other offices.

"Overall, the trends in office furniture, the award-winning designs, are those that support privacy and collaboration, provide plenty of surface and storage space in ever-shrinking workstation layouts, meet the demand for easy access to proliferating technology and let people tailor their office to specific tasks and work styles," says Kimball's Horton.

Corporate image. One thing businesses won't compromise on is their image. In this time of shrinking offices, what goes into them is increasingly important.

"Good quality upper-level management leaders are hard to find," says Larry Kuzemka, director of sales and marketing for Jasper Desk Co. "One way that companies are attracting individuals is not just by stock options or salary, but by allowing them to work with designers and have a nice size budget for their office space."

Jasper Desk has been making quality custom office furniture since 1876. It offers an extensive variety of wood species and finishes and often works with award-winning designers to create unique furniture for companies.

Kuzemka says Jasper Desk furnishes many corporate reception areas and board-rooms--reproducing the corporate logo in wood veneers on the boardroom table is popular. "It sends the message they want the customers to see, high-profile and professional, but then they might not spend the money in the other office areas."

Jasper Desk also offers a New Freedom Series featuring recessed cabinets that allow the computer screen to disappear when not needed, a line of Mission-style furniture and an "A ka Carte" series that allows customers to customize and reconfigure furniture pieces to meet their needs.

In an industry that has been in decline since 9/11 and is largely price-driven, being in such a specialized niche has proved a safe harbor for the company.

"It has helped us survive in a very challenging market," says Kuzemka. "But our industry is back. The last eight or nine months have been very good for the industry overall."

Flexibility. The bare bones of the business environment are also an important consideration in increasing productivity and enhancing corporate image.

When Jill Mendoza, CEO and owner of Indianapolis-based i.d.o. Inc. (Innovative Design Offerings) purchased a 5,000-square-foot office building, she decided to renovate it with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (EEED) certification in mind--despite estimates that her costs would increase by 30 percent.

"As the building owner and a business owner I had to make it happen," says Mendoza. "It will be up to the end users, the business owners, to want to achieve a more sustainable environment for their business and their employees. What that will take is professionals like myself, and architects and engineers who know how to achieve that."

That involved recycling or reusing up to 75 percent of materials that would normally be slated for demolition, using natural light to advantage and other energy efficiencies, plus tracking and producing the paper-work trail required for certification.

The interior-design company, which Mendoza founded in 1992, moved to its new location this July She plans to share the costs of going green, which she believes will come in far lower than the estimates.

"I feel businesses will not only be judged on the return of their investments these days, but also on the return on the resources," Mendoza says. "I think it is important enough. There have been rumblings in the industry about green design for the past 10 years ... but it is really a fast-growing segment of our industry now."

Established in 1981, Fort Wayne-based Morrison Kattman Menze is an architectural firm which offers green or sustainable building design, interior design and furniture, fixtures and equipment planning for offices.

"The key to today's office space is flexibility," says George Morrison, partner with Morrison Kattman Menze. "Businesses want fewer permanent walls and more flexible partition systems."

Morrison says raised floors with space underneath to house HVAC systems and computer cables are becoming more popular in office design because the concept gives businesses more flexibility in the layout of their office space and it also allows employees to have more individual control over their working environment. Instead of one thermostat control, each workspace has its own floor diffusers that can be adjusted to regulate temperature.

"That is a big advantage," says Morrison. "But more important, one of the goals of sustainable design is better indoor air quality. The conditioned air is closer to the workers, so less air volume and pressure is needed, which is a more efficient use of energy, plus it provides a cleaner environment. All this results in less employee absenteeism due to illness, since employees have more control over their environment and better air quality."

More furniture companies are designing green. Steelcase recently introduced its 99 percent recyclable Think chair. Kimball Office added two new Terratex seating fabrics, composed entirely of recycled polyester and manufactured using 100 percent Green-e certified renewable energy, to its materials collection. LEED awarded its flagship showroom with a gold certification and its Chicago showroom with a silver certification.