Oxygen Rooms & Recycled Tyres: TOG’s Nasim Köerting Tells All On the Future of Office Design

The Office Group (TOG) is famed for its well-designed workspaces. To celebrate the provider’s soon-to-launch 210 Euston Road, we caught up with Nasim Köerting, on the future of office design. 

From oxygen rooms to flooring made from recycled tyres, here’s what the landscape holds. Plus, we explore how collaboration, wellbeing, sustainability and hybrid working are influencing the future of the office.

Could you tell us a little bit about your experience, and your role within TOG?

As Head of Design, I’m involved in setting the creative direction and working with our chosen architects and designers. We think of the role as editing – making sure the story is right for the workspace.
I’ve been at The Office Group for almost two years. Before that, I designed hospitality spaces. Hospitality design has a huge influence on the workplace sector, so my experience designing hotels and restaurants really enriches my role.

Post-Covid workplace trends are a hot topic. Can you talk us through your predictions for the future of office design?

It has become a truism now, but the future of work will continue to be hybrid. Over the past year and a half, we’ve been doing a lot of industry research and speaking to clients and members every day. What comes through, right across all businesses, is that while people have discovered the benefits of working remotely, they’ve missed those elements that make up an office aside from a desk and a chair. So, as clients plan their future office needs, they’re realising rows of fixed desks are no longer fit for every purpose.

This means that the post-pandemic office will have to work harder. It will need to become a space for training, collaboration, ideation and creativity – with a huge focus on wellbeing, because businesses are going to be challenged to entice people who’ve become comfortable working from home back into the office. Rather than expecting employees to adapt to a one-size-fits-all approach, the office will need to have flexibility built in to accommodate a diverse workforce and diverse ways of working.

Young workers, in particular, often have less access to an adequate homeworking set-up, when contrasted with those over 35, so thoughtful office design can make a real difference to that demographic. Great design should be accessible to everyone – and now, more than ever, the industry should take note of this, and work to bridge that gap to create an exceptional office environment for all.

We’re speaking to businesses that are keen for more collaboration space in their offices. Beyond breakout areas, how can office design facilitate that trend?

We are definitely seeing a demand from our members for more open spaces to meet, create and collaborate. But collaboration is as much the chance encounter at the coffee machine as it is a formal ideation session in a dedicated breakout space. Being together in one space that encourages social interaction is key. TOG’s new HQ at 2 Stephen Street will showcase some of our thinking as we bring dispersed teams into one open plan floor in a space designed to encourage a collaborative culture to flourish.

Part of this is creating different zones for different purposes, which enhance productivity – be it for quiet working, shared thinking or that essential down time. The journey of moving from one place to another gives you time to refocus and is a design consideration in all of our buildings. Our cafés are great for one kind of conversation, our lounges for another. At Stephen Street we’re bringing the kitchen and tea points front and centre to the experience, encouraging teams to take time to reconnect.

“Collaboration is as much the chance encounter at the coffee machine as it is a formal ideation session in a dedicated breakout space.” – Nasim Köerting.

Wellbeing is becoming more of a business consideration, rather than an employee’s individual responsibility. How can the office support that?

The design of our workspaces can be enhanced through the introduction of amenities that you just don’t have at home: fitness studios, meditation rooms, and great coffee. When we think about wellbeing at TOG, we think about the intrinsic design of our spaces and the needs of the people who will use them, not just the physical positioning of walls and task chairs. There are so many factors in fostering wellbeing in workspaces: the nutritional quality of the food and beverages; natural daylight; heating, cooling and ventilation as well as the flow of the building, which should encourage people to walk and take the stairs in order to move from one setting to another. All these things matter. In order to move forward, office design has to be holistic.

We always strive to innovate when meeting our client’s needs. At Douglas House in Fitzrovia, we recently opened the ‘oxygen room’: a beautiful space high up in the building with great views that’s filled with natural light, openable windows and plants. It’s a very different environment in which to regather your thoughts. Likewise, the meditation suite at United House in Notting Hill, with its immersive art installation, offers another chance to escape and reset.

What role will sustainability play in offices going forward?

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in all facets of our lives, the office included. Many clients want a space that will help them reduce their carbon footprint or meet wider ESG objectives, and this will only become more integral as we work together towards net zero targets over the coming years. The energy efficiency of a building will be key, but equally important are the materials used in construction and fit-out, the technology helping to measure and optimise building performance and even the way people use the finished space.

From a design perspective, sustainability means longevity. A building in which the design is outstanding and timeless is the one that will not be knocked down but instead can be repurposed. Similarly, an interior that appeals in years to come will always remain in fashion. We design TOG workspaces to last, with a wide range of clients in mind.

York House in Kings Cross is a great example of this, an 80s era building which we reopened in 2019. Working with dMFK architects, we stripped this building back to its frame, creating airy spaces that make the most of the natural light. The space achieved a BREEAM Excellent certification thanks to innovative details such as flooring made from recycled tyres and laminated timbers, a rainwater harvest system, natural air ventilation, premium insulation and solar panels.

Above: 210 Euston Road. “Overall, there are 16 terraces, providing natural light and breakout space throughout the building.”

The office experience is going to be crucial in incentivising employees to return. In your view, how does TOG provide that sense of experience?

Whether they are small, medium or large, I think companies are all looking for the same thing – a place where employees can thrive, have access to amenities, and have a variety of places they can work. I think they’re looking for workplaces that are professional yet playful – a place where they can bring their own clients but where their younger employees can also feel at home. We set ourselves the challenge of keeping it classic and trendless, yet interesting.

TOG is launching 210 Euston Road next year. Can you give us a taster of what businesses can expect from it?

We’re really excited to unveil 210 Euston Road, TOG’s first workspace designed specifically for larger ‘enterprise’ businesses. We had 68,813 sq ft of an open plan, light-filled floorplate to play with. As well as the adaptability of reconfigurable open floorplans, there’s a real focus on wellness - we’ve packed 210 with amenities to help people be their most productive, from the showers and bike storage in the basement, through to the parent room and fitness studio all the way up to the members bar and roof terrace on the 7th floor. Overall, there are 16 terraces, providing natural light and breakout space throughout the building.

The workspace will be a showcase of our design ethos and our future of work capabilities; so expect tech-enabled collaboration spaces, a diverse range of work settings, and of course those little design touches that make a TOG work space unique.