In today’s evolving work culture, prioritising employee well-being is no longer a luxury, it’s a strategic priority. Financial management firm EFG International embraced this attitude in its ambitious office redesign, aiming to minimise the environmental impact and create a flexible, productive, wellness-focused workspace that would attract and retain top talent. Milliken’s modular flooring was chosen by the design team to help bring their vision to life.
EFG appointed workplace specialists AIS to undertake the design and fit out. AIS delivered a sustainable, dynamic design that supports Activity Based Working. They were able to completely transform the building into a bright, modern and super-flexible workspace spread across two linked floors designed to promote collaboration, comfort and well-being.
The new workplace exemplifies the company’s clear commitment to employee welfare, creating a sense of community and collaboration with a ‘Club House’ space that accounts for around a third of the building’s footprint. For this and other key areas of the building, the floor coverings also make an important contribution to the users’ health and well-being.
The Importance of Daylighting
EFG’s large, inspiring board room and video conferencing room are flooded with natural light from the expansive glass roof that extends down the wall. Maximising natural light within an interior, termed daylighting, has expansive health benefits.
Exposure to light during the day supports the body’s circadian rhythm. Having a dysregulated circadian rhythm has been linked to various health issues such as obesity, depression and cognitive impairment[i] [ii]whilst increased daylight exposure correlates with increased productivity and better sleep quality[iii]. EFG’s floor to ceiling windows absolutely maximise daylight exposure for employees, helping to regulate their circadian rhythm, increasing productivity and improving overall mood.
Milliken’s modular carpet planks, from the Major Frequency collection, add a touch of luxurious underfoot comfort to these impressive spaces. The design’s loose grid patterning echoes the dramatic lines of the curved wall-ceiling structure, and adds a sense of flow across the floorplate.
Flooring that promotes indoor air quality and employee health
The selected carpet collections (Northward Bound and Major Frequency) are Indoor Air Quality certified to GUT, TUV Proficert, CRI Green Label Plus, and declared Red List Free. These third-party verifications provide peace of mind assuring low VOC emissions and the presence of no harmful materials. Ultimately preserving indoor air quality and protecting the health and wellness of EFG’s staff. To learn more about VOCs read our blog The Benefits of Low VOC Flooring.
The benefits of using flooring to zone
Milliken's Northward Bound, Glacier design flows through the workstation and acoustic booth areas, collaboration zones and open meeting spaces. Utilising the flooring to help define these zones without the need for physical partitions allows workers to move intuitively through the space. Inspired by the planet’s polar landscapes, the design creates gentle multidirectional, organic lines across the floor plane that work alongside the lush green planting to evoke a sense of calm, mindfulness. Specified in the soft grey tones of Encountered and Navigate. Glacier delivers biophilic references that sit beautifully within the interior’s neutral colour palette.
[i] Kent ST, McClure LA, Crosson WL, Arnett DK, Wadley VG, Sathiakumar N. Effect of sunlight exposure on cognitive function among depressed and non-depressed participants: A REGARDS cross-sectional study. Environ Heal A Glob Access Sci Source. 2009;8(1):34. https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-8-34
[ii] Germain A, Kupfer DJ. Circadian rhythm disturbances in depression. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2008;23(7):571-585. https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.964
[iii] Legates TA, Fernandez DC, Hattar S. Light as a central modulator of circadian rhythms, sleep and affect. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014;15(7):443-454. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3743
