The new corporate headquarters of Summertown Interiors is, not surprisingly, quite beautiful. It’s also in an energy-efficient building with architecture designed to improve workflow.

As reported in Gulf News:

With Summertown Interiors being well-known in eco-friendly designs, it is only natural that their new corporate headquarters in Jebel Ali is built to conserve energy and water.

The company’s new premise is designed to reduce water and lighting consumption by 50 per cent. In order to do this Summertown Interiors installed water efficient fixtures to reduce use by 32 per cent.

In addition, movement detection systems in restrooms were also installed so that lights only turn on when someone is inside.

Marcos Bish, managing director of Summertown Interiors, said: “We incorporated all the best elements of green design into the new headquarters and showroom to demonstrate … how to create an eco-friendly work environment that is also cost-effective and productive.”

The colour scheme comprising warm shades of grays and whites in the office, along with the clean desk policy implemented by the company influences the work output of employees.

A recent Summertown Interiors blog post by Heidi Demuynck provides more insight:

Most importantly, I feel like the office environment that we now work in is much more positive…the lighting that we use now is less harsh with an abundance of natural light and open space which I have no doubt, has increased our productivity levels.

It’s not unusual to expect that a leading interior design firm operates out of a space that is both attractive and usable. However, note that both the news article and the blog talk about work output. Can a positive environment improve productivity?

Absolutely! As The Methodology Blog has covered before, we should be conscious about what we wear to work, how we manage our clutter, what we hang on the walls and even where we work! We even discussed the concept of a “mess bias” back in the 2009 Indianapolis Productivity Summit—the condition where your desk influences what you and others believe about yourself, due in part to a phenomenon called priming.

The design of your workplace and your workflow are intimately connected. Improve your productivity and satisfaction by taking responsibility and authority over your role and your space. Work in a positive environment. Contact Slaughter Development for more information.

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