For organisations and interior designers fitting out hybrid working spaces, conference facilities and meeting environments, the challenge is finding the right balance between openness, privacy and acoustic comfort. The answer is not necessarily to create more enclosed rooms. Instead, effective workplace design provides a choice of spaces for different activities.
At Spacemann we provide office pods, meeting booths, rooms and acoustic screens to make hybrid working spaces functional for everyone who needs to use them. If you’re looking for an acoustic solution, we have everything you need. Contact our team today.
Design Hybrid Working Spaces Around Different Ways of Working
A functional hybrid working space starts with how people use it. Rather than dividing an environment simply into meeting rooms, desks and breakout areas, consider the different activities that need to happen within the space.
Space for collaboration
Collaboration does not always require a formal meeting room. Quick catch-ups, team discussions and informal meetings can often take place more effectively in an open or semi-private setting.
Open pods can help define these areas without completely separating people from the wider workplace. This makes it easier to create dedicated collaboration zones within larger shared environments.
Space for focused work
Concentration can be harder to maintain when several activities are taking place around you. A well-designed hybrid working space should therefore include quieter areas where people can work without the same level of visual and acoustic distraction.
This could be achieved through an open pod, acoustic screen or more enclosed workspace, depending on the level of privacy required.
Space for private conversations
Some activities need greater separation. Confidential meetings, client conversations, interviews and important video calls all benefit from a more private environment.
Fully enclosed acoustic pods provide a dedicated space for these activities while reducing the need for permanent meeting rooms.
The aim is not to make every part of a workplace private. It is to provide enough choice for people to find the right level of openness, privacy and acoustic control for the task.
Use Open Pods to Divide Hybrid Working Spaces
Open pods are particularly useful when a large shared environment needs more definition without being broken up into a series of enclosed rooms.
The Lunar range can introduce a more defined area for meetings, quiet working and focused activity, while maintaining a connection with the surrounding environment. Lunar configurations can support activities including video conferences, private meetings and uninterrupted work.
The Orbit range provides another option for creating informal meeting and breakout areas. Its open design allows people to collaborate within a defined space without feeling completely separated from the rest of the workplace.
For hybrid working spaces, this flexibility can be particularly valuable. Open pods can help establish where an activity takes place without turning every interaction into a formal meeting-room experience.
Introduce More Privacy with Acoustic Pods
Not every task can take place successfully in an open environment. When conversations are confidential or concentration is essential, stronger acoustic separation may be needed.
This is where fully enclosed acoustic pods can add another layer of functionality. They provide dedicated environments for focused work, meetings and calls, helping users step away from the activity of the wider workplace when greater privacy is required.
Spacemann’s Odyssey Acoustic Pods are suited to projects where acoustic performance is a key consideration. Rather than allocating a permanent room to every private activity, an acoustic pod can introduce a dedicated space within a larger shared environment.
This approach can help organisations make better use of available floor space while giving users greater choice over where and how they work.
Use Acoustic Office Screens to Create Flexible Zones
Pods are not the only way to introduce separation into a hybrid working space. Acoustic office screens can be used to divide larger areas, define working zones and introduce visual privacy without making permanent changes to the layout.
Freestanding screens can help establish temporary partitions, while desk dividers can provide more personal separation between workstations. Suspended and wall-mounted acoustic screens can also contribute to sound absorption and help manage reverberation within open environments.
This makes acoustic screens a practical option for shared offices and conference spaces where the layout may need to adapt over time.
Build a Hybrid Working Space That Can Adapt
There is no single layout that will suit every hybrid working environment. The most effective approach is to provide different types of space and allow people to choose the environment that best matches the task in front of them.
Open pods can support informal collaboration. Acoustic screens can define flexible zones. More enclosed pods can provide the privacy and acoustic control needed for focused work and confidential conversations.
Our Silence range of work pods have optional drop-down casters for easy relocation. This means you can change your layout when required.
Together, these solutions allow a hybrid working space to support collaboration and concentration without relying on one type of environment for everything.
Create a Hybrid Working Space for Everyone
Whether you are fitting out a shared conference facility, flexible workspace or meeting environment, thoughtful space planning can help you make better use of the area available.
Spacemann’s range of acoustic pods, meeting solutions and office screens can help introduce the right balance of collaboration, concentration and privacy. The result is a workplace with space for people to work in the way that suits the task at hand.