2019 was a year of experimentation across sectors, and commercial design was no exception. Keeping the look and feel of offices fresh, welcoming, and thereby productive was the focus of the industry, which involved using state-of-the-art technology and innovation. Sammeer Pakvasa, MD, Eleganz Interiors, gives a snapshot of trends that ruled the commercial design roost in 2019.

Design Trends That Dominated 2019

Vivid hues: While 2018 was all about being subtle and minimalistic, with neutral shades like grey taking over commercial walls, the year also witnessed more colour pop on office interiors. Bright and vibrant hues with striking accent walls trended, to create livelier, more interactive and creative spaces. Moreover, deep jewel tones took over to add life to an otherwise lacklustre room, along with exuding boldness and warming up the space.

Green spaces: Sustainability continued to be the key focus of the year, with commercial offices increasingly embracing it too, with a number of them integrating living green walls in the interior design. These walls also improve air quality and acoustics. Natural light has also been encouraged by modern offices, for less dependency on artificial lighting.
Sammeer Pakvasa
Boosting employee productivity has always been the fulcrum of a well-designed office space, and this led to 2019 being highly focused on the right palette, materials, furnishing and other style elements to create that savvy space

Sammeer Pakvasa

Comfort and flexibility: A design trend that witnessed an upswing in 2019 was moving away from mundane functionality, creating warm, comfortable and homely spaces for employees. Accent tables and bookshelves along with fluffy sofas and relaxing chairs in different corners of the workplaces were the fad of the year. Café-style high tables also found preference in offices that encourage an open work culture. More importantly, 2019 was all about leveraging co-working spaces for playing on design elements of comfort and flexibility.

Mixed elements: A mix and match of styles, materials and elements trended this year, particularly embracing the fusion of modern and contemporary with the company’s traditional values. Contrary to the monotones of 2018, the year was all about making way for diverse design elements, strong colours, materials and textures, and blending old-school glass with metal or antique finishes with new-age furniture to create a boho chic workspace. Basically, the ‘combine old and new’ ideology whilst maintaining employee privacy took the office design of 2019 by storm.

Smart offices: A smart office is one that uses technology such as sensors and mobile apps so that the employees work better and faster, and help them perform tasks more efficiently. AV lighting systems with customisable settings, IoT sensors, intelligent climate control, robust video monitoring, and conference rooms and desks with innovative features and equipment, were the popular design elements. A smart office space is driven by the following features:

IoT devices: The advancements in connected devices have given rise to Internet of Things, a concept where almost each and every device in the office is interconnected and can function intelligently. Be it doors with motion sensors, windows with temperature and light sensitive blinders, etc, IoT devices have made corporate life more efficient and convenient. They help cut down energy consumption costs and collect data on the general office usage to adopt more intelligent, conservation practices.

Smart lighting: One of the biggest reasons for high electricity bills and wastage of energy is leaving lights on when not in use. Smart lighting helps avoid wasteful depletion of resources, by intelligently switching lights on only when the sensors detect a presence. Many such devices also have the capability of dimming lights or increasing the brightness, depending on the available light in the room. This helps in conserving power and promoting responsible energy usage.

Design Trends That Dominated 2019

Biophilic designing: Yet another aspect of smart office designs, which is rapidly gaining popularity, is biophilic designing. It uses the power of nature to introduce a healthier and more relaxing environment. Indoor plants, creepers, open views and natural lighting breathe fresh air into concrete buildings and has proven to be highly effective in acting as a stress buster for employees, and even preventing physical ailments and diseases due to sitting in a closed office space all day, every day.

Wireless charging in tables/desks: Wireless charging not only reduces the clutter of wires and cords, but also save energy usage. When worktables are fitted with wireless charging technology, one only needs to place their smartphones, laptops, tabs, and the like, on the surface, to have them start charging. Once the devices have been charged fully, the power is cut off automatically, reducing wastage of power.

Intelligent climate control: One of the biggest inconveniences that many employees face in modern offices is the temperature. With central air conditioning being common in almost all offices, regulating the temperature every time it gets too cold or too hot becomes a huge bother. AI-equipped intelligent temperature control is rapidly gaining acceptance in corporate organizations as an effective way to reduce energy consumption, while facilitating comfort and convenience.