As if they were part of a social club, office breakout areas are increasingly important in the perspective of activity-based working. In addition to offering a break from the PC, alone or in with the colleagues, it allows you to carry out work activities in an informal environment and interact with other employees in a more direct way. Here are the tips from Level Office Landscape on how to enhance your office starting from the breakout areas.
The New Role of Breakout Areas in the Office
Whether they are small living rooms equipped with sofas, armchairs and coffee tables, passageways with high tables and stools to take care of a coffee or, even better, actual rooms with kitchenettes and snack counters, breakout areas have a place of honor in the layout of contemporary offices. If placed in the entrance, moreover, they can also serve as a waiting area for customers, consultants and other visitors. .
From small spaces equipped with bare tables, a few chairs and microwave ovens, breakout areas have come a long way, to become one of the most interesting and lively areas of contemporary offices. Not just moments of idleness: they also host intense brainstorming sessions, when new ideas are born and opinions are exchanged between colleagues from different departments. Sitting on a designer armchair or at the counter in front of a good coffee, surrounded by welcoming colors and materials, workers are more inclined to strenght their relationships, unconsciously carrying out team building activities.
How to Embellish an Office with Breakout Areas
If the breakout areas are located next to the entrance, to welcome employees and visitors, their layout must include two distinct areas. One with a reception desk that reflects the company identity in terms of materials and finishes, another more comfortable furnished with armchairs and, if space allows it, comfortable sofas. In the center, coffee tables like Oasis by Level Office Landscape allow you to display magazines and useful materials to make the wait more pleasant.
To make the welcome area more spectacular, you can decorate partition walls with indoor greenery like Moss Wall. A natural element capable of instilling a feeling of well-being and, at the same time, increasing the productivity of those who observe it. LCD screens and digital walls like Smart Wall by Level Office Landscape complete the entrance layout with a relaxation area, broadcasting emotional company videos, general information, or transmitting broadcast programs.
Relaxing Rooms
Between a private office, a meeting room and large open spaces, the rhythm of the office layout can be broken up with relaxation areas dedicated to breaks or informal work. Equipped with large sofas, poufs and armchairs, they can be customized with an almost endless variety of finishes and fabrics. From solid colors to textures, each nuance can create interesting color accents.
If the office relaxation areas are located in passageways, perhaps near vending machines with snacks or coffee machines, the ideal accessories to decorate them are the high tables from the Aspen series by Level Office Landscape. Equipped with stools of the same finish or with contrasting colors, they represent the right compromise between aesthetics and functionality.
Partitions, Bookcases or Partition Walls?
To properly divide the relaxation areas from the operational areas of the office, several options are availble. For the noisiest workplaces, the advice is to always opt for glass partition walls. Those from the Planet Plus and Planilux Plus series by Level Office Landscape are available in the single-glass and double-glass versions, with a variable pvb index depending on the desired level of acoustic insulation.
The latest addition to the Level Office Landscape collection, the Well bookcase is ideal for decorating relaxation areas in the workplace. It is a modular system inspired by the famous ‘’Abitacolo’’ designed by Bruno Munari, winner of the Compasso d’Oro in 1979. Well is made with a 20 x 20 mm square-section extruded aluminum structure, painted RAL in various colors and allows you to create numerous customized compositions, both in the choice of finishes and in the positioning of the modules. It can in fact become a container unit, an open or pass-through bookcase, a bench system, a display unit, a partition system.
Or it can be transformed into a habitable module, like the one presented by Base Milano during the Fuorisalone 2022 in collaboration with Level Office Landscape: a space for conviviality, but also for privacy, designed for hybrid spaces and for activity-based working.
Design a Breakout Area with Level Office Landscape
The technical office team and the Art Director of Level Office Landscape are available to develop customized solutions for office relaxation areas and to recommend customized office furniture ideas. To receive a quote you can contact them by email by filling out this form, or by calling +39 039 9284831.