Office Reception Design Principles

Whilst reception areas within offices differ dramatically, there are some office reception design ideas and principles that are consistent for most schemes.

Typically there are 3 groups of people that will use an office reception or building reception area. Staff, visitors and suppliers/service visits. Office reception design often starts with analysis of the people using the space. Ideally Staff should have a straightforward entrance procedure, distinct from Visitors, to avoid congestion and make access simple.

Visitors should have a clearly visible focal point to head for. Similarly service visits or deliveries should have a clear check-in point, but ideally separate from corporate visitors. The use of a sign-in book for each group helps to separate the two. Receptions occasionally suffer from congestion of parcels, and visitor items such as coats and small cases. Designing in provision for items to be placed out of sight helps to maintain the good first impression.

Security and Reception staff need to have visual control of the space, even when a travel route for staff doesn’t take them to the main Reception point.

Control should also extend to Visitors once they have progressed to a waiting zone, so that the Receptionist and visitor can both maintain contact in the event of a prolonged waiting time.

The office reception design principle is to ensure clear visibility for the receptionist. The flip side of this is clear way-finding for visitors.

Reception furniture is designed with good reason. Soft seating is rarely soft….it should be firmer to assist people to get up quickly, and to avoid sagging through constant use. Comfort isn’t a requirement…but uncomfortable furniture still isn’t acceptable.

Durability in office reception area design is very important. Typically a reception desk, storage and seating are specified to a high standard so that they don’t deteriorate rapidly. Careful design of corners that stand up to the hoover, surfaces that don’t chip or lift, and durable fabrics are all standard practicalities.

Equally important is that everything is serviceable. Light fittings must be easy to access when the bulb fails. Corners can be easily knocked…design in a way that is either protected from traffic…or constructed to withstand a knock.

Often a reception desk will also be someones workstation. The principles of ergonomic desk design can be applied to a reception desk, and indeed the ergonomics for the visitor as well. We factor-in the tried and tested layouts used in regular office furniture to ensure computer layout is considered. Reach distance for visitor badges is calculated. Reflection and temperature, all mandated under display screen regulations, are evaluated. In short we design desks that work for the receptionist as well as for the business.

The image above shows aspects of a reception desk re-design. Lanyard storage was designed and built into each position in a 3-person receptionist desk. The desk was modelled using a test rig to make an adjustable set of surface heights, depths, and relationship to the reception counter. Receptionists used the test rig to evaluate the ergonomics before the desk was re-designed.

Joinery…a trade term to cover purpose made furniture. Joinery typically refers to construction that is only ever viewed from one angle, and isn’t designed to be changed or moved. Joinery is different to furniture in that a furniture piece is typically moveable, and finished on all sides (inside and out) whereas joinery will be ‘construction grade’ behind the surface.

Regulations concerning reception desks and access for disabled visitors generally expect that a reception desk should include provision for visitors in wheelchairs where possible. In practice the architecture of a building determines the ease of access and feeds through into the reception area design.