HOW DO YOU DESIGN A BREAKOUT SPACE?
Breakout Space design has often been placing some wacky soft seating and bean bags in some otherwise dead space. The Breakout Space is often thought of as just a space for staff to take a break, relax and recharge their batteries. However as new work practices gather pace it is becoming an increasingly important area. The aim of a good breakout space is to create a multi-functional area that can be used for informal meetings and collaborative work.
WHAT FURNITURE DO YOU NEED IN A BREAKOUT SPACE?
A good breakout area needs to have multiple uses. Therefore you do need a range of different furniture types. The typical uses will range from being the staff canteen at lunch times through to informal meetings during the day. They can also be used as a quiet work area or just somewhere to take a private phone call. Therefore you need canteen style tables and chairs, which could be high tables with barstools or low. You also will want soft seating which could be built in banquette seating, tub chairs or high-back sofas. Often phone boxes or wall-mounted phone hoods are included in the breakout space for phone calls.
BREAKOUT AREA DESIGN CASE STUDIES
Also take a look at this interesting BREAKOUT SPACE DESIGN CASE STUDY for AVM Impact in London. This staff breakout area project turned a tired and also little used canteen into a vibrant breakout space using very colourful furniture. The old canteen had only been in use at lunch times whereas the new area is now used all day. It is now also used for team meetings and 1-2-1 meetings as well as lunch and breaks.
Some other interesting breakout space design case studies are
- SPI Lasers in Southampton
- Pipers Corner School in High Wycombe
In addition another useful collection of breakout space case studies is Office Snapshots.
