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Furniture Solutions for Activity-Based Offices
By Kirkdale Studios
Modern Workspaces and Activity-Based Working (ABW)
The modern workplace needs to accommodate a wider variety of activities than the traditional rows of fixed desks. Focused work, meetings, collaboration, video calls and informal interaction can all require different environments, with furniture playing an important role in defining how each space is used.
Activity-Based Working (ABW) gives employees a choice of work settings designed around different tasks, allowing the workplace to support different working styles throughout the day.
What is Activity-Based Working?
Activity-Based Working (ABW) is a workplace strategy that provides a range of environments designed for different activities rather than assigning every employee to a single fixed workstation.
An activity-based office might include:
Focus spaces for concentrated individual work;
Meeting spaces for one-to-one conversations and small meetings;
Collaboration areas for group work and hybrid meetings;
Flexible workspaces that can be reconfigured as requirements change;
Breakout and social spaces for informal conversations and downtime.
The principle is simple: different tasks require different environments. Instead of designing an office around one standard workstation, ABW considers how people actually use the workplace throughout the day.
Why is Activity-Based Office Design Important?
A well-designed activity-based workplace can give employees greater choice over where and how they work while making better use of different areas of the office.
The approach is particularly relevant to organisations with varied working patterns, including businesses combining office-based and remote working, teams that collaborate frequently, and workplaces where employees perform a mixture of focused and group-based tasks.
Furniture for Focused Work
Focused work benefits from environments with fewer visual and acoustic distractions. In an open-plan office, dedicated furniture can help introduce a greater degree of separation without requiring every activity to take place in a permanent enclosed room.
Meeting pods and booths can provide semi-private settings for individual work, video calls and smaller meetings. High-backed seating, acoustic elements and appropriately positioned workstations can also contribute to quieter areas within a larger office.
Kirkdale Pro Tip:
Meeting pods are particularly suited to activity-based environments because they introduce a semi-enclosed space that won’t require a permanent wall construction.
Collaborative Office Furniture
Collaboration areas are an important component of contemporary workplace design, particularly where teams combine office-based and remote working.
The furniture specification can define spaces for formal meetings, project work, workshops and more informal collaboration. Meeting tables, high tables and poseur tables, and flexible desks can provide different settings for different group sizes and activities.
Technology should also be considered alongside the furniture layout. Power access, screens and connectivity can be integrated into collaborative areas to support both in-person and hybrid meetings.
Flexible and Modular Office Furniture
Flexibility is central to an activity-based workplace. As teams, working patterns and spatial requirements change, furniture that can be reconfigured can help extend the usefulness of a space.
Modular contract furniture can be particularly effective in multipurpose areas. Modular sofas, movable tables and adaptable seating can be combined in different configurations, allowing a space to accommodate meetings, informal collaboration or individual work as required.
The visual consistency of modular furniture is also important. A coordinated furniture collection can allow different zones to perform distinct functions while maintaining a coherent workplace aesthetic.
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Social Hubs
Activity-based offices are not limited to formal work settings. Breakout areas provide more informal environments for relaxation and social interactions.
Lounge seating, sofas, benches, café-style furniture can create a more relaxed setting away from conventional workstations. Games tables such as table football and ping pong can also contribute to social areas where the workplace brief calls for a less formal environment.
The furniture selected for these spaces can introduce colour, texture and personality while providing additional settings within the overall workplace.
Explore Kirkdale Studios’ curated selection of furniture for breakout spaces:
Specifying Furniture for Activity-Based Offices
An activity-based furniture specification needs to balance functionality with the character of the wider workplace interior.
Function
Furniture should reflect the activities taking place within each zone. Meeting tables, task seating, pods, breakout furniture and modular seating each serve different purposes and should be considered as part of the overall workplace strategy.
Flexibility
Reconfigurable furniture can provide greater adaptability in spaces where activities or team requirements are likely to change. Modular seating and movable tables are particularly useful in multipurpose environments.
Privacy
Open-plan workplaces can require different degrees of visual and acoustic separation. Meeting pods, booths, acoustic screens and considered furniture layouts can help create quieter or more private settings.
Durability
Commercial workplaces can place significant demands on furniture, particularly in shared and high-traffic areas. Materials, upholstery and construction should therefore be selected according to the expected level and type of use.
Technology
Modern collaborative spaces frequently need to accommodate power, connectivity and video-conferencing equipment. Furniture layouts should be considered alongside these requirements from the outset.
Consistency
An activity-based workplace may contain a wide variety of furniture types, but the overall scheme should still feel cohesive. Coordinated materials, finishes, upholstery and colour palettes can connect different zones while allowing each to have its own character.
Contract and Bespoke Furniture for Activity-Based Offices
Activity-based workplaces can benefit from a combination of standard contract furniture and bespoke solutions.
Standard furniture collections can provide flexibility and consistency across desks, meeting areas and breakout spaces, while bespoke furniture can address specific dimensions, layouts or design requirements.
Kirkdale Studios supplies contract furniture for commercial workplaces alongside bespoke furniture solutions and fixed seating.
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