WATER COOLER CHAT: Engaging The Five Senses
Engaging the five senses—sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch—that humans perceive the world can elevate your office design for productivity. Even the best employers, providing the best workplace solutions—ergonomic seating, height-adjustable tables, views to the outdoors, multiple break rooms—may be missing something huge. What about the color of the walls? The smells in the office? The texture of furniture materials?
One company is taking a sensory approach to rehumanizing the workplace. Italian firm Il Prisma, a Steelcase distributor, used research to create LinkedIn offices in Milan, Munich, Paris and Madrid that engage the five senses—in order to better engage workers. “Our research proves that sensorial design improves concentration and learning,” says Il Prisma architect Elisabetta Pero. “It’s all about turning on the senses at work, not turning them off.”
