Contract Magazine - June/July 2019 - 66

FEATURE

Amenities
in the
ever-evolving
workplace
Wellness is everywhere, but get ready for whiskey bars-
it's community building, trust me.
By Paul Makovsky

The goal in designing a great workspace is to create an interior
where employees are engaged, happier, and healthier. Maybe it's creating
a cafe that goes beyond having a few espresso machines, or an outdoor
office so workers can take a phone call or have a bit of rest, relaxation,
and feel energized. The end result is that with the right combination
of amenities-and the right use of basic design elements such as light,
acoustics, and color-you'll see an engaged staff that will ultimately
help the bottom line. As we see the crossover influences of hospitality,
incorporating aspects of home life, and making our interiors happier
and healthier for everyone, designers are paying even more attention
to how they design amenity spaces. The adoption of activity-based
working-providing people with a choice of settings for a variety
of workplace activities-also gives employees a feeling of empowerment.
And since space is increasingly at a premium, amenity spaces should
serve multiple purposes.
California architecture and interiors studio, Blitz, has designed
spaces for innovative companies like Microsoft, Google, Dropbox,
and many more, and is currently incorporating every kind of amenity
you can think of, from a kombucha bar and a juice bar with a full fresh
fruit space and multiple blenders, to a classic video game arcade,
and even a photo wall to share vacation shots or Instagram feeds.
Architect and Blitz CEO Melissa Hanley, AIA, IIDA, has seen how
amenity spaces have changed during the past decade: "Until recently,
amenity spaces were about an individual escaping the open office,
and now the focus is much more on the collective experience.
Spaces for people to come together through a shared experience
(whiskey tasting bar or bouldering), rather than an individual
amenity (fancy coffee machine), address the community, rather
than the individual, within the workplace."
For designers at M Moser, amenities are the heart and soul
of office culture, and their practice aims to fully understand the user
and the audience for which they are designing to create an authentic
space. "The workplace speaks to a company's brand, culture, and
the people working in it day to day as a community," says Frances Gain,
associate at M Moser Associates. "We design amenities to work
66

hard to support a whole spectrum of needs, not just for one single use.
When we see or hear back from our clients on people using the amenity
spaces in creative and different ways, we know we got it right."
David Holt, design director in the IA Architect's Seattle office
and his colleagues have been talking about the death of workspace versus
amenity space. "With the change in the average tenure of employees,
and the coming shift toward contingent employees, we have to rethink
the way we're planning and programming," he says. "People are increasingly
acclimated to having lots of choice about where they work, both within
a company, and across an industry. We think this means that 'workplace'
should be thought about as another amenity and designed with the
same spirit. Rapidly going are the days where we can rely on standards
and guidelines to define individual workspace and focus our design
energy on group spaces. They need to be a point on the same continuum
of group vs. individual, collaborative vs. focused."
One thing that people want is choice. So, with this in mind, we've
selected some of our favorite amenity spaces-from an over-the-top
whiskey tasting room to a co-working space for like-minded individuals-
that all drive engagement, empowerment, and fulfillment.

contractdesign.com

JU N E/JULY 2019
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Contract Magazine - June/July 2019

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