Orgatec 2016
Every two years the European furniture industry gathers in Cologne to see and discuss the latest trends and developments in furniture and interiors. Well that's what they say anyway. It is also very much a networking event and the British organise their own parties and traditionally finish the evening off at Papa Joe's to get the real industry news! The Orgatec exhibition has grown over the years from a local German office furniture show to a truly international interior design Mecca and therefore two members of our design team, Cigdem and Deborah set off to Germany to get inspired.
Design Mecca or not, The Orgatec in Köln may be an international show but lacks the exquisite detail that the Furniture Fair in Milan has to offer. We also expected to be able to pay by credit card wherever we went but hey, we are flexible! We were impressed by the shear size of the place though and we had an amazing time!
Biophilic design
The things that inspired us as designers were mainly the involvement of Biophilia in stand designs and also the use of wood in products within their context. They showed that it is possible to integrate Biophilic Design in office environments because it really does make a difference in your health, efficiency, motivation, creativity and overall mood.
Wood finish used in legs (chair & table) and work tops were very popular and clever in how it was implemented. Different shades and grains were considered to suit its context. A wood finish always gives a calm feeling. Greenery, plants, trees were freaking everywhere, we fell in love! The one we remember most is the pomegranate tree at the Actiu stand. The stand designers also used a lot of relatively inexpensive raw materials in an innovative way i.e. painting of sterling board/chip board, cardboard tubes and also exhibited unfinished metal.
The shift from corporate workplace “desking and task seating” to much softer timber pieces enhances a different way of working. On the office furniture side many of the big players relied on their classics and didn’t bring anything fresh to the table. Don’t take this the wrong way, we LOVE the majority of these classics but thought they needed to up their game a bit. Our industry dinosaurs Sam and Vincent, who joined us for a day felt exactly the same, but also pointed out that there were a lot of sit-stand desking on display, even on design brand's stands, hoping that this would now finally mean a breakthrough into the mainstream market.
Acoustics
Acoustics was another big focus at Orgatec. This was very smartly integrated in decorative office ornaments, ceiling rafts, desk screens, pods and even lighting. We also loved the curtains! The ones made of interesting materials – chainmail, rubber, etc – a very cool way of bringing a domestic feel to the workplace whilst still being practical way to divide spaces.
The general hospitality was excellent and we had an awesome time. It’s about so much more than just finding new products. We felt the stand design and networking side to be just as inspiring and very much look forward to Orgatec 2018!
@amos_beech Crew is rocking it at #orgatec #germany #cologne #furniturefair #designandbuild #design #inspiration #scotland pic.twitter.com/F9rLEWPxaX
— Cigdem (@cigdemodesign) October 28, 2016
Interior design Edinburgh, RBS Gogarburn
In May this year our interior design team set off for Clerkenwell design week in London for inspiration and to keep up to date with the industry's latest developments. Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet, making it truly one of the most important design hubs in the world. To celebrate this rich and diverse community, Clerkenwell Design Week creates a showcase of leading UK and international brands and companies, presented in a series of showroom events, exhibitions and special installations that take place across the area.
You don't always have to travel far for inspiration, as our designers discovered at Clerkenwell when they were introduced to some of the team behind the interior design and space planning at the Royal Bank of Scotland. Just around the corner from Amos Beech (from a national perspective), the world class headquarters for RBS are located, Scotland's largest company and the fifth biggest bank worldwide. The team were invited to come and have a look at their recently revamped spaces. Obviously, that offer was accepted enthusiastically and today we went to have a look.
Commercial interior design Edinburgh
RBS is located on a site that is named Gogarburn. The remains that were discovered in 2003 near the site suggest the site was used for agriculture in medieval times. The architects for the RBS Gogarburn development were Scottish based Michael Laird Architects and London based RHWL Architects. The concept was that of a business community with offices, restaurant, shops, leisure facilities, nursery and a training/conference centre. The main building at Gogarburn therefore has a clear social/community focus and circulation pattern.
Technology equipped meeting areas throughout the building are used to encourage collaboration with other business partners around the world as well as being an area where colleagues can “meet, focus, huddle, present or chat” depending on the project in hand.
“Scrum” areas are situated within departments where ideas, processes and improvements can be discussed robustly and advanced by using a simple step by step process allowing them to “fail faster, more of the time” – an expression that demonstrates their committal to “discover, design, develop & test” anything they create, before it is launched internally or externally.
Working environments play a key role in the attraction and retention of staff and it was great to see how RBS implemented this at their Gogarburn site in Edinburgh!
Design and Build our Team @AmosBeech
At Amos Beech in Scotland we Design and Build commercial interiors and furnish them. We pride ourselves that our design solutions exceed customer expectations and that we finish each project on time and within budget. This is not always easy, but with our team we manage to achieve customers goals again and again. To be able to rethink, restructure and redesign office interiors we also work on the continuous development of our staff and on how we work together. So on the first of August we set off to BlueSky Experiences in Perthshire. As this is an official Scottish public holiday (harvest day) we thought that we should be guaranteed to have good weather.
Team building
In the capable hands of Iain McPhee and his colleagues James and Mike we were led to believe that our flight to Los Angeles had to make an emergency landing within dense woodland in Scotland. Our team was split up into three and we had to regroup and together, find clues hidden in the woodland to be able to contact the emergency services. Before we set of in blacked out Land Rovers, Iain gave us a crash course on communication; the characteristics of high performing teams, leadership and the different roles team members have within a team.
In our group the real leadership quickly surfaced:
As we all have great confidence in the sense of direction that our interior design manager puts into her work, we followed her in humble acceptance. By navigating our way through fields and forest we learned about communication within our team and interaction. Unfortunately this didn't prevent us from getting lost:
When the going gets tough, the tough get going and that's where great teamwork fell into place! Other team members with a bit more sense of direction stepped in, formulated a plan and got us back on track:
This plan allowed the team to navigate out of the dense woodland to a site of sanctuary where three daring team members climbed the tallest tree to look out and find clues. Others created shelters and fires with natural materials, testing their bush skills.
Because carnage or not, we Brits need our cup of tea, whatever the circumstances!
The real adventurous types got on with the job of climbing the look-out post and getting the final instructions to locate the ballistic signalling device.
They felt confident that their other team members were there for them to provide safety and encouragement.
Design and Build
Eventually we had to put our brains together for some number crunching before we could get on with designing, building (design and build again?) and launching our signalling rocket. This is where the accounts department suddenly stepped in and proved their skill once again:).
Harnessing the skills of all the individuals once more for the common good. Clear communication, the formulation of a plan, the ability to react to the circumstances and the successful sharing of knowledge and expertise ultimately lead to the launch of the rocket:
Apart from the learning experience, it was above all good fun! Working together with your colleagues outside our own office interiors and venturing into the outdoors of rural Perthshire Scotland, was both useful and a treat.
Thanks to Grant for all the organisation that made this such a great team day out.