Bristol has been given the honour of judging the Furniture design competition together with IDr. Mohamad Faisal Ghazali, with 3 universities making it to top 3 (UiTM Seri Iskandar Perak, Taylor’s University, University Malaysia Kelantan). Congratulations to all the winners for your commendable achievements. For the record, First City University College will be hosting next year’s edition, 20LIMA:10 in 2023. See you guys in the UCSI event next year!

The Best New Product Award

During ARCHIDEX 2019, Bristol received two coveted awards from the event: the Best New Product award for its LIVEN executive chair as well as the Booth Design Award in the Standard Structure Category (37 sqm and above) – Gold Award winner.

Credit: Office Concept

The system was designed with architects and space planners

“This system was designed with architects and space planners in mind, to offer them the flexibility to plan large open spaces with acoustic privacy and the tools to personalise the system, so that their project could have its own unique look,” Bristol says. “It is designed to work together individually and collectively to create practical spatial concepts for group collaboration and individual privacy to optimise your office’s productivity and creativity.”

Created for individuals to do focused work or make calls in private

The Decibel 43 Call Pod incorporates a worktop, internal lighting and ventilation system as well as USB ports and plug sockets for plugging in devices. Fitting one person at a time, the interior of the call pod is upholstered in fabric for a cosy experience. A glass door is also used to maintain a visual connection to the outside so that users won’t feel completely isolated from the surrounding office environment.

Credits: Office Concept 

Individual workspaces can also simplify physical distancing measures.

Bristol’s Decibel 43 Mobile Pods are excellent for creating micro workspaces that offer visual and acoustic privacy to minimise opportunities for close interactions. Users can easily move the mobile cubicles, which come with integrated casters, to designated zones. Each unit features a tablet table available in different height and widths. Decibel 43 can also accommodate a variety of features including ergonomic sofa seats with flexing back and electrical power units.

Credits: Office Concept

Credits: Office Concept

The collection also provides a wide range of tables to suit different specifications

For freestanding work areas, the Vertigo table can be quickly adjusted from sitting position to standing postures in just seconds. High meeting tables like the Forum series are ideal for informal discussion areas, while the Lift height-adjustable table creates a more dynamic workspace with a programmable desk panel that incorporates a TV or other tech devices.

The Zones Alpha mobile divider panels

When more privacy is required, the Zones Alpha mobile divider panels create private spaces seamlessly without compromising open-space concepts. Zones Media can also be incorporated with TV screens or other media elements for a more interactive discussion space.

Credits: Office Concept

Tip #3 Minimise distractions

As we are not bound to a desk in an office environment, we’re prone to work in an assumed comfortable position. You may be tempted to sit at the comfort of the sofa with the television running in the background, thinking that this is the perk, but it is counterproductive. It is best to set up a designated working space to emulate a productive home office. Minimise distractions like TV but have calming music playing in the background to eliminate the feeling of having the walls closing in on you.

Tip #4 A good environment ​

Productivity highly depends on your posture and sitting position. Just because you are at home, it doesn’t mean that you are going to be able to lie in bed trying to get work done, where it is a video conference, concall or replying emails. To have maximum focus and efficiency, have good lighting, invest in an ergonomic chair that allows you to sit comfortably with good lumbar support and if possible, a height adjustable table that will allow you to sit or stand when needed. Moving your spot to another in your home also functions the same way, just make sure the environment is also conducive for work.

Tip #5 Set boundaries

At the comfort of home, we tend to get distracted by either family members or chores. However, if you have informed them about the new working arrangement, and set appropriate boundaries, you are more likely to work in peace. At the start, discuss expectations and the things that you need to work efficiently with your housemates and family, but also allow yourself the time to be with them during meal times. After all, these are the benefits to working at home.

The first few weeks of working from home are always the hardest. As a human, we crave social interaction with others. The work pattern and synergies you already have with your colleagues will also have a drastic change. The trust built with your team will also take on a different momentum. Allow some time to adjust, but keep disciplined and consistent to make it successful.

At Bristol, we believe that anyone can work better at home with the proper guidelines, tools and working environment.

Solution # 2

Work Pod Cubic

Your own personal nest if you could call it. Work Pod Cubic acts as a barrier in a workspace, shielding the user from unwanted sound & visual distractions in the office.

Work Pod Wave

Work Pod Wave can be used to create private zones that enable employees to operate in an environment that best suits their personal working styles. A small footprint makes it a perfect solution to utilize workspace efficiency.

Solution # 2

Meeting Pod

Meeting Pod gives the user a more private ‘room-within-a-room’ to discuss & collaborate. Meeting Pod can also be fully integrated with media, data and electrical management.

“When I started investing in startups,I realised that India has the worst offices in the world – so I thought, let’s focus on creating the best office spaces because we spend more than 50% of our time there,”

Secondly, the design needs to outstanding so that it encourages idea pollination,

focus and productive environments within the campus. With these two in place, we then start creating a vibrant community, the third ingredient. Indians in general are introverts and have a strong sense of pride which stops them from talking directly to each other so within Innov8, we create a culture where people can interact with frequent events and community movements. Finally, technology, as we position ourselves as not a real estate or a design company, but a tech company.”

While all Innov8 campuses are built on those 4 guidelines, each Innov8 campus is unique and the design is developed based on the location’s context. For example, Innov8 Connaught Place, New Delhi has an open format campus and despite (or because of) its inner-city location has made space for a terrace with lush greenery. Innov8 Chandigarh which is located in India’s best planned city has an informal yet homely feel to cater to the diversity of its many freelancers. Being located in Bangalore the IT capital of India, Innov8 Koramangala provides closed formats with accents of local arts and crafts. As for Innov8 Boston House, Mumbai, which is located in India’s financial capital, the iconic Mumbai skyline is represented on its ceilings and it offers a rock climbing wall.

While all interiors are designed by an in-house team, Dr Malik is deeply involved in their conceptualisation and is emphatic on maintaining high standards:

“Designing a campus is a beautiful process. We transform a space and place a lot of weight on the comfort which is why all our campuses use Bristol workstations. All these elements create an ergonomically positive work environment which being a doctor I understand the importance of.”

“We will never compromise on the quality of the product because people may forget the cost but they always remember the quality.”

Considering how inviting the campuses are, it’s no wonder they are always buzzing with activity like BBC’s 100 Women event celebrating the most powerful women in the world held in Connaught Place recently. Dr. Malik reveals that they have at least one event every three days to foster interaction and create a buzz both with external parties as well as internally. In fact, the respective Innov8s have also positively impacted the community around each campus. “Our campuses run at 100% occupancy and we also have a 100% retention rate. Innov8 represents entrepreneurship, good ideas should come to us and we are there to help them out. We do not care what sector you are in, we just want to help you to get your business off the ground. You don’t have to worry about your HR or food and beverage needs because we have an app where you can post what you require and our community managers will get it done. Focus on your work and we will take care of the rest,” explains Dr. Malik.

While it’s certainly impressive at how Dr. Malik and his team have created such amazing spaces and dynamic communities in 2 short years, his answer to what the most important lesson he’s learned during this process is typically inspiring: “I am not a management graduate but you do not need to know about management to run a business. What you need to know is that you should have the mastery on how to build a great product. All great companies in the world can’t have a sustainable business if they don’t have a great product. My aim is to build such a beautiful product that you don’t even have to market it. We will never compromise on the quality of the product because people may forget the cost but they always remember the quality.”

Despite the fruits of these decades of know-how, the Liven also underwent a rigorous R&D process which took approximately three years.

From prototyping to a battery of tests, the results allow the Liven to comply with the international ANSI BIFMA standards.

The biggest challenge the designers faced was the conundrum of building different categories of chairs on one platform: “Most manufacturers provide a few configurations in one design but we wanted to allow Liven to have up to 10 different configurations with different price points and aesthetic requirements. In the end, we’ve managed to design a chair series that shares the same core system and is efficient production wise.”

The Liven was designed as a broad product family for furnishing all areas within a company.

The rationale for this sort of customisation? While the Liven is a bosses’ chair, the Liven designers anticipated how designers would require some consistency in style for bigger projects. “When designers choose chairs, they’ll need a range of chairs to fit not just in the CEO’s office but in the board room down to the secretary’s desk. They would require a chair that works in different scenarios and could be a task chair or a meeting chair so we have made many different options from the same concept. One would be hard pressed to find a chair in the United States and Europe that is quite so versatile,” says Vernekar.

The half shell back version is a winning choice for smart boardrooms.

Beyond its design, the Liven also allows for a wide variety of personalisation by virtue of the materials available ranging from aniline leather, PVC and fabric, something rather unusual as executive chairs are often very limited in this aspect. This versatility also extends to the Liven’s ergonomic features which include an adjustable backrest and arm rests and sliding seats, allowing for superior comfort for users of all shapes and sizes. It would not be unfair to say that despite being an executive chair, Liven has all the qualities of a very dynamic task chair.

Sliding upholstered armrests and seats allow for personalisation.

The Liven was soft launched at the China International Furniture Fair in Guangzhou this April, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Dealers have been raving over its distinct looks and competitive price point. It has also been specified for several international and local M&C companies and rather interestingly, has proven particularly popular with doctor’s offices. Indeed, it would appear that whether in a board room or clinic, plush office or home study, having a Liven executive chair is a sure sign that you’ve arrived.