Convene, a company which provide a network of meeting, event and conference venues wrote an article ‘How the 5 Senses Help Inspire Workplace Productivity’.  I was inspired by the words of this article, however not by the nature of Convenes ‘premium’ office spaces. In my opinion, they did present what is required in this type of setting but did not speak ‘premium design’.

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People generally underestimate the power of your senses therefore to emphasize this, Smart Sense is a workplace which has a highly thought out design optimally using the 5 senses to provide a successful and exciting user experience.

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The workplace is divided into five zones, each of these zones represents a sense, Sight, Sound, Touch, Smell & Taste.  However, within a space, it is also important to create flow, therefore through incorporating a 6th sense- kinaesthetic- each sense will ultimately be evoked in each zone making the working experience feel comforting and natural.

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As the user walks through the space, they will experience a range of emotional responses through their senses. Bursts of yellow will create a visual interest and stimulate lively discussion in the collaboration zone and masses of plants and herbs hanging from the botanical wireframe will provide a restorative distraction within the touch zone.  Workers in the maker space, centred between the sound and touch zones, will experience a refreshing and uplifting aroma from the herbs and pine timber. Smell is surprisingly the most powerful sense in boosting productivity therefore of high importance within a creative working environment. Creating effective acoustics is critical in a workplace environment. Poor acoustics can dip your productivity level by 66% therefore in the sound zone, high quality pine is the main material used throughout to mask noise pollution. This will ultimately enhance productivity and increase concentration. Located above the main floor is a mezzanine level. where people can refuel in the taste zone.

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In an inter-disciplinary setting, it is crucial to create an environment which suits the needs of every employee. The design of Smart Sense is flexible, there is no hierarchy setting. In today’s working environment, the ‘personal’ desk no longer supports all of our works needs therefore creating a range of work settings is much more effective.  Employees are increasingly productive when they have a decision in where they can work.  In response to this, the various work settings within Smart Sense include, 1-1 discussion pods; private desks; meeting spaces; collaboration spaces; a makers’ space; a collaborative library and open plan desks.  Other design elements include an amphitheatre presentation space and restorative seating.