INTEGRATING ART INTO DESIGN-LED WORKPLACE INTERIORS
Over the past few years design-led office décor has taken on a far more human-centric approach. With that the integration of art into a design scheme is now a crucial element when delivering a warm, inviting, and successful environment. With wellbeing accepted as a motivator for productivity in the workplace this means businesses are approaching office interior design with a fresh and open eye. Specialist furniture consultants, OW-N leads the way when it comes to integrating curated artwork into a design forward scheme. Co-founder Matt Short explains: “When we’re collaborating with a client and talking about future-focused workspaces offering more than just high- quality furniture, we’re also looking at the wellbeing of those using the space regularly. This now needs to be somewhere that meets the needs of contemporary life and business as well as looking good. We’ve found that artwork has to be a part of that process.”
“There is so much to be done when it comes to storytelling through the decorative aspects of a design project” says Alexander Kim, Customer Partnership Director at The Crown Estate.
One such example is the recently completed London headquarters for photographic and creative agency Getty Images, a project designed in collaboration with interior design consultancy Bluebottle, led by architect Nicholas Gibbs. “We worked closely with the Getty Images Gallery team to develop a brief for the selection of artwork to ensure it became an integral part of the design, rather than a bolt-on element at the end.” The aim, explains Gibbs, was to not only compliment the interiors palette, but also showcase the breadth of the Getty Images archives thus reinforcing the message of the brand. “Another key consideration was ensuring that all wings of the Getty Images collection were well-represented from creative and editorial to historical archive photography.” Likewise, Short recently worked on a project for The Crown Estate at 2 Bessborough Street, helping to create a flexible office furniture solution for the new community hub in Pimlico.
At its heart was the selection of artwork seen throughout. “There is so much to be done when it comes to storytelling through the decorative aspects of a design project,” says Alexander Kim, Customer Partnership Director at The Crown Estate. “At Bessborough Street we worked with art consultancy Creative Debuts to really get that right. To ensure that creating this space meant thinking about every aspect, getting it all to fit together. Artwork can sometimes be our starting point for a colour or material palette, sometimes it’s the other way round either way, artwork is about elevating the mood of an interior and subtly supporting a brand message.”