Healthy working environments according to Worksphere
A building that brings out the best in people, so that better results are achieved at lower costs.
Observe
The team
observes developments in the market, looks at what clients want, follows the
technological and social developments and monitors what competitors are doing.
Okhuijsen then distils the developments that are necessary to ensure that
Strukton Worksphere and its clients remain successful in the mid and long
terms. These may involve concepts, services or contract forms.
For several years, Strukton Worksphere has therefore expressly focused on 'healthy working environments'. ‘In our view, this is an interesting development area, one in which our clients are becoming interested and where there were interesting developments abroad, like the emergence of WELL.’
Two
important drivers
Okhuijsen
saw two important drivers behind the increased interest among clients: ‘The
first - the costs and revenue - is reducing absenteeism and raising
productivity. A healthy working environment obviously earns the organisation
money. The second driver - and based on my change management background even
more interesting - is retaining and inspiring people about your organisation.
And I don't just mean “the war on talent” in business and industry, but also
schools, universities and hospitals. People are currently much more assertive
and can choose more easily. The healthy building can be an important selection
criterion for students or patients.’ According to Okhuijsen, this is also a
result of social development: the increased focus on health and healthy living.
‘For example, smoking isn't socially acceptable, sitting is regarded as the new
smoking, exercise and a healthy diet are being promoted and alcohol and energy
drinks are increasingly losing ground.’
Health and
wellbeing
Strukton
Worksphere is a technology company that focuses on the built environment. Among
others, the digitisation and attention for healthy working environments meant
an important reversal for Strukton Worksphere: buildings are no longer key, but
the people in the buildings. ‘That's also expressed in our mission: we create
pleasant and healthy working and living environments for everyone.’ Health and wellbeing
have clear consequences for the building design: ‘In the past, aesthetics were
the most important element, followed by functionality. Now it's health and
experience aspects.’
Revitalisation
According
to Okhuijsen, Rijkskantoor de Knoop – the revitalisation of a former barracks
into a modern transparent working environment – in Utrecht is a great example
of the approach to a pleasant and healthy working environment promoted by
Strukton Worksphere.
‘That building - commissioned by the Central Government Real Estate Agency - was designed from the drawing board by the consortium which includes Strukton Worksphere based on the starting point: what does the building mean for future users? The key question was: how do we create an environment where people feel comfortable, want to work and like returning to? It had to be the prime meeting point for public servants in the Netherlands. The whole demographic environment also played a role: it's in the heart of Utrecht, near the central station. We wanted it to optimally connect with future users.’
Adapted to
users
For that
reason, after extensive discussions with the client and future end users about
conference, meeting and development facilities as well as about accessibility,
colourways and materials to be used, the design was totally adapted to the
future users. For example, a theme (the Netherlands) was chosen and this is
reflected in the warm use of colour and in furniture and prints. A central
atrium was created with a coffee bar which encourages meetings. There's also a
lot of glass at floor level, so that it's always open and light. Exercise is
also stimulated through the layout and walk lines.
The Green
House
The icing
on the cake is the neighbouring circular pavilion, The Green House, a
restaurant which has been completely designed in terms of sustainability and
sustainable use. This building is designed to be run by people with poor job
prospects. There is also a glasshouse in the building where herbs and
seasonings can be grown and used in meals. The Green House is a temporary
facility. In connection with the zoning plan, it must be removed in fifteen
years' time. For that reason, it can be completely dismantled and is easy to
move.’
Three-tier
approach
Strukton
Worksphere adopts a three-tier approach to healthy working environments.
Firstly, there might be a health issue, for example high absenteeism or people
complaining about a dry throat. Secondly, in the new building or revitalisation
of a building, health and wellbeing might be the starting point for the design
right from the drawing board. De Knoop is an example of this kind of
revitalisation. Another example is the development of The Dutch Mountains in
Veldhoven, a complex being planned with offices and a hotel, meeting facilities
and other amenities.
Sustainable
deployability of people
The third
approach is aimed at the sustainable deployability of people. This involves
clients where care for employees and clients is one of the core values. For
them, a healthy working environment is an important part of a bigger picture,
linked to things like vitality programmes, a healthy diet as well as cleaning.
In this third approach, we therefore work expressly with partners. That's what
you call co-creation. Where we do the hard side - the building and the working
environment.’
Strukton
PULSE
‘Our
data-driven platform, Strukton PULSE, has played an important role in this for
many years, enabling us to monitor and optimise the buildings we manage. Now,
together with partners, we are developing a new module in which we link data
via scientifically tested algorithms to health values and visualise this for
our clients. A unique proposition that we will be launching soon and that we
will apply for a number of clients.’
Soft side
Besides the
hard side, there's also a soft side: how do people experience a space? ‘With
the hard data about a building, we can say something about the health value,
but how does the user experience the space? That may vary and it's important to
incorporate that in the total picture and discuss it with clients. Because of
that soft side and the balance between the soft and the hard sides, we work
with partners.’
Psychological
state of mind
Besides the
hard and soft sides, Okhuijsen mentions another health aspect: people's psychological
state of mind. ‘That can be influenced by a lot of things. The weather, a
reorganisation, a row at home, a bad night's sleep, summer or winter, is there
a flu epidemic? All these things have an impact on your wellbeing and your
productivity. And that in turn affects one of our most important issues, the
demonstrability of healthy buildings. We can calculate and prove it with data,
but the demonstrable yield in productivity and falling absenteeism is difficult
to show. A great deal of research has now been done and we have the WELL system
and the Leesman index. For example, we now know that sound and fine particles
have the greatest impact on people's health and productivity in their working
environment. You need to take that into account. Ultimately, we naturally want
to show that healthy working environments not only improve user satisfaction,
but there's also money to be made from them.’
Responsive
buildings
In the
future, Okhuijsen foresees buildings that move with the users: responsive buildings.
‘You might think of walls as screens which can be converted into a forest
environment, for example. And an area which offers forest air. So that the
illusion of a forest is created in different ways. It might also be a beach, or
10 other environments, in which people feel most comfortable at work. A future
building like this is so smart that it recognises your profile and responds. In
turn, that gives a huge boost to healthy working environments. The first
examples have been created and we are monitoring them closely. In ten or
fifteen years, I'm sure that this will be quite normal.’
This
article was published on Smart WorkPlace
Text: Peter Bekkering; Photo: Michael Kooren
