Spacestor Introduces Verandas

Spacestor, the UK-based manufacturer of workplace furniture, has launched Verandas. The first of its kind, Verandas is a modular meeting room system that gives businesses the flexibility to build, remodel, or deconstruct conference spaces as their offices change. Verandas is essentially a kit of parts that is easy to assemble, allowing staff to utilize it as their needs evolve.

The Spacestor team is known for pushing boundaries and finding innovative solutions—more important than ever in the wake of the pandemic. With the introduction of Verandas, Spacestor created an answer to a pressing workplace need following conversations with leaders around the globe. That ongoing dialogue was a key part of the development process.

“We are constantly reaching out, talking to business leaders. It’s important for us to have that connection so that we can understand what they need to make their workspaces effective. We realized that some of the norms that have been around for ages were going to be challenged. We’ve seen a much greater appetite and preparedness to experiment. That’s what is driving change and better spaces,” said Russell Kingston, managing director at Spacestor.

As pundits discuss hybrid models and specific styles of working, change is the constant refrain, from offering different layouts to updated schedules to accommodate workers. Conference rooms in particular are not as essential as they once were for employee collaboration. Working from home is expected, and conferences are virtual more often than not. Verandas, and the concept of effortless adaptability, is the antithesis of the fixed, unused meeting rooms commonplace in offices today.

Spacestor’s proprietary architectural room is fully equipped with power and lighting, and can be deployed when and where it is needed. Verandas was designed to ensure that valuable square footage is maximized, never wasted. “Everything is interchangeable, so you can create anything from a small booth for one person to a large, 12-plus meeting room. You start with the core building blocks, and then there are a lot of different things you can do in terms of how you dress and treat the different modules,” Kingston explained.

Producing products that align with any corporate identity and aesthetic are a Spacestor hallmark, perfected over a span of three decades. “We have always believed in functional products that people can scale and reuse. This is something that goes right back to Spacestor’s DNA. We don’t know what the workplace is going to look like in three years, so we wanted to give people a product that would still be up to date, even as the office evolved. I think choice, flexibility, and sustainability were really the three things that came together and led us to create Verandas,” Kingston noted.

 

Choice

There are a range of materials that can be selected, and add-ons include whiteboards, cork walls, and glass panels that employees can write on. “Originally, we were thinking that we might have fewer options, and as we went through the prototyping phase, we decided that we would introduce a lot more finishes—plywood, laminate, cork, and upholstery. All of our other products have got a much narrower finish selection. We widened it out for Verandas though, because we wanted to give designers that are creating these spaces more to play with it,” Kingston said.

The materials not only enhance Verandas, they also elevate the look of a traditional office. “Management has realized that employees want choice, and post-pandemic, workspaces have to be really attractive. A nice environment enables employees to do their best work. With all of these options, you can really personalize the office and bring in an element of home,” Kingston added.

Flexibility

Flexibility is crucial as we head back to the office and support both group and individual work. “We heard from our clients repeatedly that there was a need for flexibility in the office. We wanted to make it possible for people to actually reconfigure this in-house with just light hand tools. Now with Verandas, you don’t have to rely on external experts every time you need to change something, and you still have a high-performing, acoustic meeting space. It’s a key flexibility point,” Kingston noted.

Fixed solutions are no longer ideal for workers that are in the office a few days a week. “You can’t move a fixed meeting room around the office, change its shape, or take it with you. In a few months or a few years, the space may be used in a different way, and you have to be able to adapt quickly. Down the line, someone may want to freshen things up a bit, and they can do that by simply swapping out the panels. You don’t have to throw the whole product away and you don’t have to relocate. It’s all very doable,” Kingston added.

Sustainability

The pandemic has prompted manufacturers and specifiers alike to focus on sustainable components and goods in more meaningful ways. “For a long time now, the industry has had a big focus on using sustainable materials when manufacturing their products. Of course, that’s very important to us, but it’s only part of the story. If you get a sustainable material and then throw it away after two years, there’s going to be waste there. There’s going to be some carbon impact,” Kingston said.

Typical meeting rooms not only feature materials that are impossible or difficult to recycle, the rooms are completely single-use when dismantled. “The vast majority of parts used in Verandas are recyclable and reusable in some way. If you have a product that’s reusable, but you have to throw 70% of the parts away to use it again, that’s not much good. We designed Verandas so that literally everything can be reused, except for an acoustic seal at the bottom. The ability to reuse the maximum number of parts was key,” Kingston noted.