The type of furniture you have in your conference room will affect how people collaborate and interact in the space. The room itself has always held a sense of importance, serving as the place to hold company or client meetings, discuss major decisions and come up with new business ideas. Facility managers can help shape the nature of work and culture in their workplaces by considering these unique furniture designs for their conference rooms.
Encourage creativity by using walls as a canvas
The walls of a conference room can be used for more than hanging decor and AV equipment. You can use special materials like sticky notes and whiteboard paint to turn your walls into a canvas for creativity. Teams can record meeting notes, sketch out thoughts during brainstorming sessions or even create their own art. Startups like Chartbeat have used their glass walls to mark down ideas during meetings, fostering a sense of team collaboration.
Keep in mind
These additions can increase the amount of clutter on the walls as well as dust particles from chalk or paint materials. If you choose to implement this design, use dry erase paint like IdeaPaint to avoid leaving behind smudges that can detract from the professionalism of your space.
Create openness with sofas
Sofas are now a popular sight in the conference rooms of tech companies like Facebook. Using sofas instead of chairs can increase your employees’ comfort while creating a more casual, informal atmosphere in your space.
This setup can be helpful for meetings that require creative interactions or a relaxed tone for discussion.
You can further develop this sense of openness by removing the table entirely. Eliminating this physical barrier between team members can help boost their perception of equality and acceptance.
Keep in mind
Sofas can take up more space than chairs. Before changing your current arrangement, check that your conference room can accommodate enough sofas to seat your whole staff.
Establish comfort with floor seating
Many cultures value sitting on or near the floor when conducting activities like socializing or eating. You can bring your conference room design closer to the floor by setting up a low-set table with legless seats or cushions, or pushing existing furniture off to the sides to enable employees to work in an open area. This can help employees break away from the usual positions of standing or sitting on chairs or stools, and allow them to consider a different approach in ideation and discussion.
This arrangement is also suitable for activities like meditation, yoga or simple relaxation. You might opt for this setup if you’ve been looking to implement more wellness initiatives in the workplace.
Keep in mind
Older employees may have difficulty sitting on the floor or standing back up, so you’ll need to consider whether or not floor seating aligns with your team’s well-being.
Develop a natural atmosphere with plant life
Incorporating natural light and more plants inside your office can yield many benefits, such as a 6% increase in productivity. Conference rooms are no exception—you can add components like green walls, ambient noise and indoor trees to create a more natural environment for meetings, as this office in Germany has done.
Keep in mind
These designs may require unique upkeep practices like regularly watering the plants and changing the soil. Plant life also requires lots of sunlight, so you’ll need to ensure that your conference room has enough windows to keep your plants healthy.
Modern offices incorporate unconventional designs as a reflection of their company’s unique character and values. Conference rooms are an important consideration here, as they represent a collaborative and interactive space. Your work culture can help guide what furniture designs to implement in your conference room so that you can best meet your team’s needs.
Photos: Pavel L Photo and Video / Shutterstock.com, wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock.com, Uber Images / Shutterstock.com, Sophia Baboolal, Breather
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