Two months after the start of the year, we have already detected the first tendencies that will predominate in the office design during 2024. We give you a preview of the aesthetic currents that are beginning to appear on the horizon. Like all trends, their appearance does not happen overnight, but rather they give the first signs one or two years ago. They turn into trend when architecture and interior design studios prescribe its use in their projects. And it turnsfashion” when it reaches the street, the shops, businesses and shop windows. For now, these are 7 trends that come stomping:
Auditoriums in agora format
One of the trends that are increasingly included in modern office projects are meeting spaces in format agora (from the Greek, “square”, “assembly”). Its design is characterized by the inclusion of steps or stairs that serve as seats. Unlike traditional auditoriums, where the speakers are on a raised platform, agoras work just the opposite, since the speakers Exhibitors They are in the “pit” and the assembly members are around on steps or stairs, facing each other or in a circle.
Another peculiarity is that the ladder It frequently serves to communicate the auditorium with other spaces in the office, generally, with the social area or the entrance, so it has a double function.
Even so, the agora does not replace the audience formal with rows of chairs. However, many times both spaces coexist in the same office center, since, despite having a similar use, the contact and closeness between speakers and listeners is very different.
The resurgence of brutalism
For one or two years, we have witnessed the appearance of spaces that have their inspiration in the brutalist architecture of the 50s-60s, emerged as a consequence of the reconstruction of Europe and the beginning of the Cold War.
The use of concrete was its main characteristic, although brick, glass, steel, wood or stone were also used. But being a cheap and highly durable material, it was perfect for making social housing in devastated Europe. Aesthetically, the design, simple and emphatic, was influenced by the modern movement and the predominant idea that it should be stripped of ornaments and superfluous elements in the service of the functionalism.
Well, we are now seeing those same basic ideas in many interior spaces, where predominates cement, concrete or exposed concrete, complemented with elements such as steel and other rough metals. A kind of new minimalism in gray.
The return of terrazzo
Perhaps due to a domino effect, the return of terrazzo It seems that it has something to do with him brutalism. The prominence of cement as the main raw material and its popular use in the 50s and 60s approximates these two trends almost inexorably and makes them extremely compatible aesthetically.
Actually, the terrazzo It was invented in Venice in the 15th century to take advantage of pieces of marble in buildings, submerging the pieces in a clay-based conglomerate. In the 20th century, the cement as a base, to which stones or pebbles of different colors are embedded, which are polished in the workshop if they are tiles, or in situ if they are continuous, until they are completely smooth and level.
El terrazzo we will see it more and more frequently not only soldiers, but also on other surfaces such as countertops kitchen, bullion tables, trays, vases and other ornaments.
Terracotta, the color of the year
After a long season where they have prevailed very neutral and natural colors (white, sand, stone, grey...), color returns to the interiors thanks to the terracotta, another organic tone inspired by Nature, which will give life to spaces. We will see it in the coatings of clay or in mortar paints in walls.
And, of course, also in the textiles and upholstery, as we can see in the new model of Tashio sofa de Limobel Inwo. This design, with one, two or three seats, adapts to brutalist interiors due to its style. simple, minimal and functional. Let us also remember that terrazzo usually includes terracotta-colored pebbles, with which the circle is closed and all the elements match perfectly.
Kitchens like at home
This year, and probably in the years to come, we will see offices that increasingly take on the look (and spirit) of a dwelling. As studies show (and we have pointed out on several occasions), it is a way to build customer loyalty. young talents, make them feel comfortable and comfortable at home…
And what space is more domestic than the more? Hence we find offices with kitchens truly surprising, that we would already want them for our own homes. Complete kitchens equipped and designed, with all the home appliances necessary (even with several microwaves, coffee makers or refrigerators, to serve all workers), storage, full cooking zone, furniture design and a distribution Suitable for several people to work at the same time.
biophilic offices
La biophilia, more than a trend, it is and will be a necesidad and priority in office design. Ultimately, all office designs will incorporate plant elements in the spaces. We have already spoken on several occasions about the benefits of having inside plants in the offices. In addition to being a first-rate aesthetic element, the plants oxygenate and clean the air, They reduce static electricity, absorb VOCs (volatile organic compounds) with which some materials and furniture are manufactured, and help maintain the moisture atmosphere.
In many cases, companies go to Landscape so that they can design the indoor plant program they need, depending on the local species, climate, etc.
The WOW effect
What is the so helpful “wow effect” What is so fashionable? Well, simply an element that leaves users surprised just by entering the space. This effect has a lot to do with the neuroarchitecture, that is, the ability of design to create pleasant emotions, both aesthetic and functional.
Office design is increasingly personalised and focused on the corporate image of the company, its values and what it wants to convey. Gone are the uniform and anodyne offices, which sought just the opposite: not to attract attention, with a correct, discreet and impersonal interior design.
Today, the opposite is true. Even within the same company with different headquarters, the interior design They are not repeated from one city to another, because they know that in each location they need to transmit a specific message.
Hence the “wow effect” be that way of creating spaces and integrating unique and surprising elements that make the space a unique office.
