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Suite success - view point

Forget the out-dated oak panelled image, the executive office is still relevant in today’s business environment, comments Ian Weddell, Managing Director of Dovetail.

In the past twelve months Dovetail have been responsible for a number of refurbishments of executive offices and the trend shows no sign of abating.

The executive office is still very much in favour with corporate bankers, financial institutions, property developers and lawyers, and can still be found in newer, less hierarchical businesses such as broadcasting and telecommunications

The prime reason is, I believe, that major clients expect to do business in certain surroundings and the institutions are simply meeting that need. It’s part of the culture of doing business and it is an expectation that major customers will be entertained in a well appointed office, as a backdrop to serious deals being undertaken.

The executive office is an expression of the culture of the business, and where that business is  hierarchical senior people expect to have a suite that reflects that culture and their status within it. 

Styles have changed in the past twenty years or so.  In the seventies and eighties you’d expect to see a dark oak panelled room with an oak topped table, and curtains that the wife had chosen.  The office was very formal and functional.  But today’s executives are much more sophisticated and design aware.  Fittings are much more modern and this is reflected by the use of design classic furniture such as Florence Knoll tables or other pieces that have been recognised for their timeless qualities and characteristics such as the Eames meeting chair or the Swan chair, designed by Arne Jacobson

Also within the office are breakout areas, kitted out with sofas, low level tables and often including expensive rugs or paintings.  As a result the executive office has become more comfortable, more relaxed, almost more domestic – often reflecting the style of the person whose office it is. 

Senior people understand what their office environment can do for their business and are commissioning architects and designers to ensure that their executive space is communicating their chosen message to the outside world. And the message is not just about selling.  I think that it runs deeper than simply having somewhere private to impress customers.  Neither is it about reflecting the age and heritage of the organisation.  New firms in established sectors will very much reflect the values and culture of the sector. 

I really believe that it’s about lifestyle.  People have aspirations and those at the top want their lifestyle reflected in their offices – they want their space, their office, to say something about them, their understanding, their artistic appreciation.

Perhaps the executive office used to be about status, an extension of the reward package designed to attract and retain good people.  But I think that it has gone beyond that now.  The personalisation of the office space is saying, "This is who I am, this is the culture of our business." 

A classic executive office is an investment and the investments being made say quite clearly that the executive office is wholly relevant in today’s business environment.