Aspects of the natural environment in the design of office buildings and complexes

Abstract

Interactions between the facilities, their equipment and the natural environment have become the essential aspect of the office work environment design, made in the way ensuring the well-being of the employees in their workplaces. The striving to increase  productivity and efficiency of the office work resulted in the search for the optimal conditions for the work performance. There are appropriate construction, technological and material solutions used for designing the office units and their interiors. Moreover, the tendency to search the ergonomic ways to satisfy the workers’ need for the contact with nature can be observed. The tendencies in building design mentioned above can be noticed when it comes to the urban architectural planning as well. They are visible in the ways of locating the office buildings, shaping the forms of such buildings and the working environment itself. On an example of the selected European office buildings, the relationships between the needs of employees, facilities together with their equipment and the natural environment have been analyzed. The analysis of the office buildings was preceded with the entry, which discusses the problems of the relationship between the urban structure and the natural environment. The importance of greenery in the built environment was indicated together with the influence of the natural environment on the location of buildings and the architectural complexes as well as the ways of shaping the forms of them and of their surroundings. It can be stated that plants have become the part of the office life in the common spaces and outside, in order to improve the mental comfort of the employees. “Green” complexes have been raised up, including representative residences, administrative towns, office parks. In the city center areas and on the verge of them, the new buildings come along with the accompanying recreation and leisure functions.