Design & Decorate

Building meeting rooms costs 55 per cent more than buying office pods research finds

November 22, 2023

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Promotion: buying office pods instead of building meeting rooms could save companies in the US around $30 billion by 2030, according to research by soundproof booth manufacturer Framery and real-estate investor CBRE.

Post-pandemic working habits are driving a transformation in office layout and design worldwide says Framery.

More people working from home means employers are scrambling to use costly office space more effectively, while the increasing prevalence of video calls has resulted in growing demand for small, acoustically insulated meeting spaces.

Framery meeting pods in an office — The coronavirus pandemic triggered a sea change in office layouts

“Office occupiers are investing more and more into flexible spaces and different types of adjustable spaces to meet the demand of flexibility and to attract their workforce back to the office after the pandemic years’ remote working,” said CBRE’s Jussi Niemistö.

A study by Framery and CBRE found that as well as offering options for changing office setups, pods are more cost-effective than constructing new meeting rooms.

CBRE compared the costs associated with getting one-, four- and six-person Framery office pods with the cost of building meeting rooms of equal size in different cities around the world.

Framery meeting pods — The research indicates that many offices will need to be refurbished to accommodate new working demands

It found that meeting pods tended to be significantly cheaper – with constructing equivalent meeting rooms costing 55 per cent more on average.

Building a permanent phone room in a New York office is 155 per cent more expensive than getting a one-person Framery booth, according to the study.

A separate study by real-estate firm Cushman & Wakefield found that more than 41 per cent of office space in the US is in need of refurbishment in order to support hybrid working by the end of the decade – around 241 million square metres.

Framery meeting booths — CBRE’s research indicates that meeting pods are a far cheaper option than constructing new meeting rooms

Framery’s analysis based on CBRE’s research indicated that building new meeting rooms in that amount of space would cost more than $85 billion. By comparison, the same area of Framery pod space could be purchased for around $55.5 billion.

Framery CEO Samu Hällfors also argues that meeting pods reduce office running costs.

Person taking a call in a Framery meeting pod — Framery claims to have manufactured the world’s first meeting pod

“Pods are compact and make better use of existing space,” said Hällfors. “They allow for greater flexibility in rearranging and reconfiguring offices and they can be moved to a new location when needed.”

“That all greatly reduces the lifetime costs associated with running an office, especially in larger cities with high-priced real estate,” Hällfors continued.

Founded in 2010, Framery claims to have invented and sold the world’s first office pod, and its Framery O is the world’s best-seller.

Office worker in a Framery meeting pod — The study looked at costs of building meeting rooms in cities across North America, Europe and Asia

There are now more than 200 pod manufacturers around the world, according to Hällfors.

“The increasing demand for these office pods isn’t coming so much from management as it is from employees themselves,” he said. “Reimagining the workplace in these innovative, cost-effective ways is what is going to get employees excited to return to the office.”

To view more about Framery and its products, visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Framery as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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