Reuse creates vibrant offices
Is it really possible to make environmental and cost savings when your office doubles in size? That was the question facing medical simulation company Surgical Science, which turned to Input interior and Greenified for an answer. “There was no need for us to choose between a great price, ecofriendly options or high-quality products. We got all three and are extremely satisfied with the end result,” says Office Manager Lena Emilsson.
Swedish company Surgical Science has now been developing medical VR simulators for more than 20 years. The company currently operates on three continents, and during the year the 40 or so employees based at its headquarters in Gothenburg have moved into a workspace almost twice the size of their previous one.
“We primarily develop software, but also hardware, for VR simulators used by surgeons and specialists, among other healthcare professionals, for clinical training. Programming takes place at this site, which also doubles as a showroom for visiting customers and investors,” says Lena Emilsson, Office Manager at the company’s headquarters.
One area of the office houses state-of-the-art simulators that are used for surgical procedures at teaching hospitals and clinics the world over. Workspaces, conference rooms and social spaces contain approximately 80 per cent reused furnishings.
“We barely looked at new furniture. Everything was pretty much sourced through the Greenified e-commerce platform or brought with us from our previous premises. We’ve been able to purchase high-quality, designer products at an advantageous price, while also making considerable environmental savings by reusing existing pieces,” says Lena.
“Reflects our interior design concept”
Instead of proving a major challenge for Surgical Science, purchasing pre-owned items and incorporating them into the company’s interior design concept turned out to be a real asset.
“We value there being a mix of products in the office, as it creates a vibrant feel and reflects our interior design concept. There’s a huge selection of products on Greenified’s website, with images and prices easily available, all of which made it that much easier to plan our move,” continues Lena.
Stina Lust Peterson, Account Manager at Input interior, has been involved in the project and picks up the story.
“The advantage lies in always being able to find individual products or large volumes of the same model on Greenified, offering possibilities for all sorts of projects. In this case, we predominantly worked with a variety of products, which made it an even more fun experience.”
The company’s previous office featured elements in red, black and steel, which tie in with its established logo and graphic profile. Now, a recurring theme throughout is wood and shades of blue. When combining existing products with the new blueprint for the office proved tricky, there was an effective solution to fall back on.
“Some elements of the furnishings from the previous office were worn and worked less well with the new concept. To avoid discarding furniture, we opted to recondition it instead. We chose to reupholster pieces in new materials, with the end result being that you would never know that they were used. All the curtains have also been altered. It is possible to adapt furnishings in a wide variety of ways to suit new premises or concepts,” says Stina.
Once the new office was ready and the new-old furniture had been delivered by Input interior, it was finally time for the employees to see their new workspace.
“One of our new employees was stunned to learn that all the interior furnishings were used. The feedback from our colleagues has been very positive, which is hugely satisfying,” concludes Lena.
