Rise HQ in Lagos by DHK Designs is Crafted to Ensure Productivity

The brief for this project was to create a workspace that’ll accommodate the full workforce both remote and in-office staff distributed all over the country due to insufficient space at their existing office.

The proposal aimed to create a “Rise” world of its own, maintaining the diverse activities and company’s assets, projecting the brand’s values and identity in its space.

DESIGN FLOW

One of the major design themes was to construct a colorful and playful environment to give employees a better working psychology thereby enhancing productivity and positive work culture. This was achieved through the integration of multiple greenery in the workspaces, wall arts, brand colors, graffiti, lighting interplay and creating less boring/conventional workspace aesthetics.

Among these are pockets of breakout lounges and alternative workspace, creating a revealing resource of diverse experiences and artistic interventions based on colors, textures and themes. Creating a working environment that speaks more of the brand and depicts the work culture of the company thereby allowing the conditions of the spaces allow creativity and innovations.

“By far the biggest workplace design factor in boosting productivity is giving employees the ability to control their own work environment”. 

We worked closely with a senior management member of the Rise team to give us more insight on the working requirements of each department of the company. In return, we carefully carved out varieties of working environments (individually and as a unit) that would not only give a comfortable workspace but also enhance productivity of its staff. This is expressed with the introduction of private work pods, private work booths, collaborative work booths, collaborative workstations as well as private offices.

We introduced multiple breakout spaces with varieties of comfort conditions to enhance collaborations and productivity such as; Lounges, Nap room, Games room, and kitchenette to take them out of the conventional workspace and give its users a breather.

EXECUTION

The first impression of a space tells us more about what is to be expected in the remaining area of the building.

The existing conditions of the building posed both a problem and an opportunity for us as designers. Due to the structural condition of the building, we could only make fewer structural adjustments in our design.

GROUND FLOOR

The Ground floor consists of the Reception, Open Plan Office Space, Private offices, Meeting room, Media Lounge, Games Room, Private Work Pods and a Breakout Lounge with a long narrow walkway transitioning the private spaces to the public and vice versa.

The Reception; the existing structural recesses in the building was converted to waiting booths for visitors, thereby maximizing the use of the space. The backdrop of the reception wall was designed to have interplay of visual continuity with vertical lines concealing the entrance door into the main space, this was achieved by the use of fluted panels as they are low maintenance, eco-friendly and durable.

Embedded in this panel is a natural green moss wall housing the company’s logo. This provides an added layer of insulation to indoor areas, and also reduces heating costs, water makes its way through the moss and then is evaporated into the surrounding atmosphere. Essentially, you’re bringing the water cycle indoor where it can provide all kinds of healthful benefits, this process is known as “evapotranspiration”

Open Plan Office Space; Tearing down cubicle walls and moving people out of individual offices has become the new norm, and this is no mistake, businesses thrive on community, collaboration, and team work. The idea is that by tearing down walls and bringing people together, a business will run more efficiently and cohesively.

Walls are confining and as a result, they make people feel like they need more space. We decided to put all workers on a level playing field, regardless of job type or position, This shows that no single part of the company’s operations is any more important than the other. It subtly bolsters company culture through inclusion.

Sitting superiors with subordinates also creates an egalitarian feel. We took managers out of their secluded areas and integrated them with the workers they oversee. Not only does this humanize superiors, it improves accountability, relatability, and trust. No longer are managers sitting in an ivory tower—they’re right there in the trenches with the troops.

Meeting Room; this is aimed at creating collaborative meetings. Research has demonstrated that collaboration yields far-reaching business benefits. We decided to do a wooden panel TV wall to allow visuals for mobile workers and distributed teams while having a marker board directly opposite. Meetings can now become more efficient. This allows for a wider distribution of download-and-install audio, video, and data sharing communication with team members.

Media Lounge; a space where you can break out from daily tasks , sip a coffee and keep up on daily news around the world, we introduced a chip board and green wall backdrop , the chip board provides an affordable alternative to concrete , less expensive and it’s also a reclaimed material.

Private Work Pods; the work pods idea was to create a space within the shared spaces of the office that can guarantee a minimum level of privacy and discreteness without hampering the concentration of the people who keep working outside these spaces.

The work pods still allow interaction with outside as these acoustic cubes create visual privacy however the use of sound-absorbing panels were needed to minimize noise distractions. These private pods work as a real sound booths that ensure the privacy of people inside, while not bothering people outside.

FIRST FLOOR

The First floor also has a similar layout; Open plan office space, Developers cubicle, Boardroom, Private offices, Breakout lounge, Recording room and a Nap room with a corresponding long narrow walkway, transitioning the private spaces to the public and vice versa.

Boardroom; The idea was to make it sleek and straightforward. You want the focus to be on the meeting, we were able to also maximize the seating to take about 10 individuals, double glazing soundproof glass was used to keep the noise down from distracting sounds along the walkway and work spaces

We introduced greenery to help reduce stress, increase productivity and boost creativity, among many other benefits. Just a handful of plants boost productivity. A simple leafy addition to the conference room to help team members focus and enjoy the space more.

Developers cubicle; this is an addition to the hybrid work model due to some workers often have difficulty finding the best private corner for their work, this cubicle creates a form of privacy as much as we want to foster creativity and cooperation we provided workstation areas for concentration, seclusion and ease of anxiety.

Nap Room; These specially-designed rooms are created solely for your short midday naps, meant to help you recuperate from the morning’s stress and get you going in the afternoon.

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