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Winter has arrived, meaning the days are growing darker earlier and more people are feeling the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a widespread condition in which mentally-healthy people experience mild depressive symptoms over winter due to less daily sunlight, having some negative effect on workforce productivity and social interaction.

A July 2015 McCrindle survey of 1,000 people indicated 33 per cent felt under-motivated at their workplace during winter, while 27 per cent felt generally less productive. Many commercial buildings exacerbate this problem with closed-off office spaces and dark decor, ill-fitting to capture the natural sunlight needed to boost our mood during the dark winter months.

Locker Group are leaders in introducing innovative architecture materials to enhance the visual appeal of commercial buildings to suit any concept or conditions. Below, we explore how three of our architectural products can help banish those winter blues by adding more sunlight to your office space.

Woven Wire

Woven Wire can be used on building facades for a sun-streaming effect, allowing maximum sunlight exposure. It is built in a variety of durable metal substrates to resist harsh winter weather and wearing, and are customisable to exact client specifications.

Woven Wire can also be used internally for a delicate textural finish over light shades, lowering the harsh artificial glare of lights. This function is particularly important, as the increased use of artificial light to compensate for shorter daylight hours during winter contributes to SAD symptoms.

Perforated Metal

One of our most popular and enduring items, Perforated Metal is typically used on building facades to add visual texture without sacrificing function – indeed, sporadic facade installations around a building result in little loss of warmth insulation, keeping your building warm and dry. It also contributes to encouraging natural sunlight flow through the metal sheet’s holes.

We are able to perforate a range of of materials, and would recommend darker-coloured metals like copper and brass, rather than cold grey and silver metals, to give your office visual warmth during winter months. These sheets can also be customised with an imprinted image in the perforation pattern, displaying a company’s logo or as an architecturally-integrated alternative to an art piece.

Perforated Metal helped Porsche achieve their distinct brand look, while keeping the building sunny.

Curtains

Locker Group’s Transit Curtains are the ideal solution for office spaces that you want to customise and re-shape easily. These wire mesh screens are widely used in modern commercial and retail spaces for their ability to allow light and airflow through seamlessly while still maintaining privacy between separate areas.

Attach the Curtains to tracks to effortlessly change the layout of your office whenever you want, or drape them from the ceiling to cover unsightly appliances – they have endless potential for a chic way of increasing natural light and breaking down stern dividing walls in office spaces. This is particularly helpful in addressing lowered levels of collaboration with work colleagues in winter months, a problem highlighted by 28 per cent of polled Australians in the McCrindle study.

Transit Curtains are used in retail to maintain lots of natural light and airflow.

Our range of architectural building solutions are built towards creating visually stunning and innovative spaces, designed to get the most from your environment. In the cold winter months, social isolation and depression in the workforce is going untreated, with dull commercial spaces dividing colleagues from one another and leaving them with little exposure to natural sunlight. Contact our friendly team today so we can shed a little light on how our simple architectural solutions could brighten up your winter blues.

As cities continue to expand and their centres becomes increasingly congested and expensive, investors are looking for office space in suburban and city-fringe areas. There, falling vacancies and rising rents are attracting these investors as part of a wider upswing in office relocation from the CBD to larger suburban spaces in search of better rental value. This gradual shift in prime office location has freed income for reinvestment and given businesses the opportunity to develop visually stunning commercial spaces operating in a variety of industries.

Perforated metal sheets

Multi-functional and eye-catching Perforated metal sheets are primarily used as external facades on buildings, due to their durability and simplicity, and offer a distinct and signature look. Customisable in a variety of shapes and sizes, these sheets are a true shortcut to a striking visual. The holes can also be perforated to a unique shape, opening the door for creative displays of a company’s identifying graphics or logo that are integrated into the very design of the office.

A distinct feature in a reception area,which provides partial screening for privacy. Or it can be integrated into the structure of the building, including in staircases and alcoves, to carry a bespoke note through your commercial space.

The Porsche Showroom in Brighton, Melbourne is a perfect case study for achieving a signature look for your offices by using perforated metal.

The Porsche Centre used perforated metal for its signature look.

Transit Curtains

Transit Curtains are ideal for a chic way of subdividing spaces in an open-plan office. Unlike other partitions, they allow light and air flow through almost uninhibited, while still maintaining privacy between separate areas.

The curtains are also removable and adjustable, should you want to expand your spaces or change office layout. Alternatively, they can be fixed to a wall or the ceiling to hide unsightly ducts and electrical amenities, beautifying your space instantly. The chains can be made from a variety of metals to different lengths and thicknesses, giving the customer true control over how they want to use their space.

Transit Curtains have already been used to visually bold effect in Cara & Co in the Sydney CBD.

Cara & Co’s Transit Curtains scream urban edginess.

Expanded metal mesh

Using Expanded metal mesh is becoming increasingly popular with designers who want to give an inventive industrial edge to their commercial project. The mesh panels are designed with two specifications in mind – lighting and privacy.

Smaller mesh gaps block light, ideal for building facades or external areas to minimise sun glare and heat, while larger gaps allow more through, encouraging internal light-flooded spaces. Similarly, smaller gaps allow greater privacy between open spaces, while larger gaps encourage a transparent semi-open plan feel.

The mesh can be coloured to client specifications, and provides a burst of visual energy to give your office the visual dynamism of a city centre space.

Agilent Technologies laboratory and offices in suburban Melbourne have used this Expanded mesh to dynamic effect, giving their building a uniquely memorable look.

Expanded metal mesh provides a gritty industrial look.

Innovating my Office Space

Whatever the specifications, Locker Group has numerous options for your design needs in creating innovative and architecturally winning visuals. We are highly trained technical professionals who pride ourselves on working with clients to develop a durable product that fits their exact specifications. Give your suburban commercial space an elegant big-city treatment by contacting Locker Group today, and hear how we can create something truly memorable for you.