Corner Office Class at Cubicle Cost

While the term corner office is fast becoming anachronistic as open office designs pervade today’s workplaces, noticeably different workspace designs can be a strong incentive to giving superior performance.

“Recognition is the key here,” says Mark Bassil, vice president and cofounder of MAiSPACE, a manufacturer of modular office furniture systems based in Mt. Olive, NJ. “While few will dispute the importance of fair financial remuneration, recognition for a job well done has been shown to be a strong motivator and it can take many forms. An attractively designed office based on the use of freestanding furniture versus modular cubicles is an excellent way to accomplish this. The MAiSPACE line of freestanding furniture can make ’incentive offices’ happen at surprisingly affordable prices.”

Best of all, Bassil says, facility managers can single source their furniture procurement to suppliers offering modular and freestanding solutions on a turnkey basis. “This goes a long way to providing a uniform workplace design theme while simplifying overall management of the installation,” he says, “The ‘corner office’ configuration, whether or not it is physically in a corner, stands apart in design and furnishings but blends in beautifully with the rest of the office landscape.”

MAiSPACE free-standing furniture is available in designs combining brushed steel with Coverseal finishes in woodgrains and a variety of colors and includes desks with unhanded returns, bridges, corners, modesty panels, hutches and credenzas. Seating, tables and movable files are included.

High quality typifies MAiSPACE freestanding furniture. “Our Coverseal surfaces provide an excellent example of this,” Bassil says. Citing woodgrains as an example he points out that “these surfaces are extremely durable and fade resistant, yet have the look of expensive solids and veneers found in the most costly furniture offerings. Work surfaces are curvilinear and feature cascade edges to improve comfort. Wood grain options include cherry, maple, walnut and mahogany.”

Coverseal patterns and colors carry through to panel systems, trim and doors, enabling facility managers and office designers to create elegant workspaces around the freestanding furniture concept.

Applying equally to the corner office and staff as a whole is the importance of ergonomic seating. “This is where people spend most of their time when in the office,” Bassil says, “yet studies show that the conventional office chair is one of the largest contributors to physical discomfort and reduced productivity in the modern office, Correct seating, therefore, is more than high style. It is comfort, ergonomics, durability, mobility and flexibility among other criteria.”

Affordably priced MAiCHAIR executive and task chairs provide ergonomic seating through an outstanding design that meets or exceeds OSHA guidelines on office chair components. Especially attractive is the chair's passive ergonomics achieved through its engineered plastic shell that molds to the shape of the individual user without the complicated adjustments that research shows are almost never used.

Cubicles to "Corner" with Stackable Panels
The beauty of modular office design is its inherent flexibility allowing fast floor plan reconfigurations to create incentive offices. "Our stackable panel system based on off-module ready to assemble framing means that private or semi-private offices can evolve from open space designs virtually overnight," Bassil says. "Imaginations run free through choices of enclosures ranging from 30 inches to 14 feet high. All this can be accomplished without disrupting adjacent workspaces - indeed the 'corner office' configuration can be physically and electronically connected to more conventional workspaces."

Panel elements are available in 18 options comprised of painted steel, Coverseal and fabric in complimentary or matching colors. Glass panel segments - clear, frosted or patterned - are excellent design elements for establishing area boundaries that maintain an "open" feeling yet support privacy when manufactured to provide low sound transmission. Space-saving siding glass doors can be used to signal that the occupant is either busy or available for discussions.

Integral to MAiSPACE office design options is its patented plug-and-play cabling system, which quickly and easily adapts to any physical layout or floor plan without disturbing adjacent work areas. "Whether occupying corners or cubicles, employees must have reliable voice and data connectivity to each other via the company's local area network and to external wide area networks and the Internet," Bassil says. "Our cabling system meets these requirements as an elegantly simple solution with performance parameters far surpassing conventional cabling configurations."

Corner Offices from $12 - $15 per Square Foot Installed
"Attractive, versatile, flexible modular furniture systems need not equate to high costs," Bassil says. "MAiSPACE was established in 1993 based on an entirely new approach to designing and manufacturing modular office furniture systems. Because we are not saddled with outmoded techniques, our price points average 40% below some of the best known names in the industry. This means we can provide fully furnished offices - cubicle, corner or executive - from $12 to $15 per square foot regardless of the number of units ordered."

These attractive price points are not at the expense of quality, Bassil says, noting that installations are backed by a lifetime warranty and guarantee against obsolescence.