The trend for including plants in office interior designs first appeared on the Russian market several years ago, when Western firms, who traditionally use plants to create a cordial work environment, entered the Russian market. Considering the average office worker spends almost half their life in the office, it is understandable that Russian firms were eager to keep up with the botanical fashions of their Western colleagues.
Modern offices can be distinguished not only by their ergonomic furniture but by the positive psychological impression they make upon visitors and employees. The presence of plants can improve the office microclimate by increasing the level of humidity, enriching the air with oxygen and eliminating traces of formaldehyde, benzols and other harmful impurities.
A few years ago, Russian offices were only decorated with plants that were freelyavailable within the country. Today, the situation has changed dramatically and plants are regularly bought and shipped from Holland and other European countries. Qualified specialists now take on the task of choosing, supplying and maintaining office plants. And following the example set by their Western colleagues, Russian firms have now become involved in providing office phytoservices.
“Over the last few years, interest in phytodesign has grown enormously. The development and construction market is developing rapidly and alongside it the phytodesign market. When a company moves into an expensive office, the office ought to be tastefully and attractively decorated with plants, says Marika VERN, managing Director of Terraculture Rasha. “Today many Russian firms are shifting to longterm development plans and the office layout (including phytodesign) is included in the budget. Our firm, for example, is already working on projects for 2008.”
Modern phytodesign adopts several different approaches to designing office interiors. Some firms only use real plants and flower arrangements, while others combine them with artificial plants. Using dried flowers, however, is generally considered to be poor taste, while incorporating tree branches and trunks is currently in fashion and very widespread. Nelly LYUBIMOVA, Art Director of the Oranzhevye Gerbery (Orange Gerbera) Flower Studio, states, “In phytodesign, the importance is often placed not on the plants themselves but on their containers and cachepots. These are relatively expensive items; the cost of a very high quality stylish cachepot can run up to 3,000 euros. In classical offices, aluminum containers blend in nicely with glass tables and black leather and metal. Usually, working areas don’t offer enough space for large plants, and so compact containers are used containing several different varieties. They are often placed on cupboards or directly on employees’ desks.”
Interior Accents
In phytodesign, there are no set styles. A particular design should, in principle, simply support the style in which the office is finished: minimalism, high tech, classical, etc. Today, Japanese interiors are very fashionable and designs can incorporate decorative cachepot, bonsai and rock gardens. Classical interiors can be accented by the color of the flowers and the shape of vases and containers. Minimalist decors are currently extremely popular in the West and are best complimented by just one interior accent, such as one very large plant in an attractive container. Office phytodesign typically incorporates cachepots and vases with severe lines, using a whole range of colors to brighten things up. The plant can be used in different ways and various styles of container can produce quite a different final effect. Often though, the color of the container copies that of the floor covering, walls or furniture.
All together, between 5070 varieties of plant are used for office greening, the majority of which are ornamental evergreens which last for a relatively long time. If the office is quite sunny, then plants are chosen that can handle light; if not, shadeenduring varieties are chosen. In nature, there a number of hardy varieties that come in quite different shapes and sizes, such as sunloving droughtresistant plants, like spatifillum, hedera helix (ivy), dracena and diffenbachia, which can be used to create very harmonious compositions. One very common office plant is the yucca, which doesn’t require frequent watering and survives well in dry environments. Shadier office areas are often used for hardy indoor plants, like aspidistra, monstera, philodendron and alglaonema. Flowering plants look particularly attractive in offices but require careful maintenance.
Potential Risks
Phytodesigners need to take several factors into account when selecting plants. The temperature of the office can have a big impact, as can the humidity level of the soil and air. Draughts can prove fatal and so the less suitable areas include not just shady corners but corridor and window areas. The best possible conditions for plants include areas that are well lit with easy access for maintenance but without direct sun light, draughts and severe temperature variations. Phytodesigners have to locate the best possible areas for plants, while of course making sure that they don’t interfere with the work of employees. For example, you shouldn’t put plants in a busy passageway.
Problems can also occur if the architect who designed the office does not consider the technical requirements of phytodesigners. For example, the architect of one project designed a small pond in a VIP zone but later discovered that it was not deep enough for the plants themselves. Another such example are cases when plants were supposed to be illuminated but electric cables or sockets were not included.
Palms for the CEO and Orchids for Reception
Each area of an office is finished according to a particular set of rules. For example, plants for working areas should not distract staff from their work by being too bright or having a very strong scent. Accordingly, working areas are usually decorated with small plants. However, a phytodesigner will occasionally be asked to provide a plant for a 15meter office. In that case, a 2meter high plant is suitable, provided it is put in a location where it doesn’t interfere with the work of employees. Alternatively, you can use shelf compositions with plants in small containers directly facing employee desks.
The reception area can often make or break a company and therefore must make a very positive impression on visitors. For this reason, flouring plants are often used for reception areas as well as cut flower arrangements, which can enliven the atmosphere. Some companies order different types of plants for the reception area to coincide with the seasons. Recently orchids have become a central feature of office flower arrangements, as they look particularly striking in glass vases. For the offices of CEO’s and directors, it is generally recommended to use just one large plant, such as a yucca, dracaena or aspidistra, while smaller plants should be placed in the waiting areas. Large halls and meeting rooms suit spreading palms, (hovea, areca) and the wide range of containers cachepots available make it possible to choose just the right option to suit the specific interior style.
The variety of plants used in meeting rooms depends a lot upon their size and the presence of windows. If the room has no natural light, then it is advisable to use ornamental plants, like zamioculcas zamiifofia. Another option is to place plants in the meeting room for the duration of the meeting and then move them to a brighter location afterwards. In fact, a special plant tray on wheels has been designed specifically for this purpose. For relaxation areas, flowering plants like spatifillum anturium look particularly attractive, as do dracaena and aspidistra. Snake plants suit smoking rooms because they are particularly good at purifying the air.
Integrated Phytodesign Services
Nowadays, companies are looking for professional phytodesign services, which include a preliminary visit to the office by a designer, who then creates a drawing or 3D image of the proposed design. Following this, a contract is concluded that includes the delivery and arrangement of the plants and often the ongoing upkeep and care. The price of these services includes the cost of the plants, containers and cachepots, planting and care and maintenance. The cost of plants depends upon the variety and size and the initial consultation is usually free.
At the initial consultation stage, the phytodesigner finds out what the client is looking for and then makes suggestions. Sometimes a situation arises where the client insists on putting, say a palm, in a meeting room, despite the designer’s assertions that there is too little light and the plant will simply die. In such cases, the client’s wishes will of course be respected, but a separate clause will be added to the contract to the effect that the firm cannot be held liable should the plant die. If the client chooses to include a service clause in the agreement, then the upkeep of the plants is entirely carried out by the phytodesign firm. Several times a month, specialists come to the office to water and feed all the plants. In larger firms, these specialists are also trained in corporate etiquette; they are able to perform their work quickly and effectively but also quietly and discretely so that they don’t interfere with the workings of the office. “Our employees tend to the plants between 7 am and 4 pm. They learn how to do their job so quickly and discretely that sometimes clients even phone and ask if we have visited their office that day. The only real evidence of their visits is often the note which they leave behind them,” comments Terraculture Rasha.
The cost of a full package of services depends on the number of varieties and size of the plants, the size of the office and the difficulty of the work, and can vary from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A new popular service is renting plants. Usually the phytodesign firm offers plants for longterm rental (from one to two or three years), and the contract includes their care and upkeep. The price can start from $10 per plant per month and are often rented by firms that plan to move offices. Companies located in modern offices equipped with all the latest technology usually conclude full service contracts for expensive plants.
The main players
“All firms working in phytodesign market can be divided into three groups. The first group is firms that are directly involved in office greening, the number of which can be counted on one hand. The second group is firms that are principally involved in landscaping and undertake phytodesign as an additional sideline. However, virtually every company that specializes in flowers also offers phytodesign services. Unfortunately many of them are not sufficiently skilled in phytodesign. The plants are often incorrectly chosen and so they die. All this has a very negative impact on the reputation of phytodesigners as a whole. So before you put in an order, you should try and find out how many years a company has been in operation and who their clients are, as well as take a look at their portfolio. A lot also depends on their style of communication and you should pay intention to how competently they can answer all your questions,” says Alexander MELNIKOV, phytodesigner and director of the Phitodecor studio. Irina Kazarova, general director of Amarant, has the same opinion: “Like doctors, phytodesigners work according to the principle of ‘do no harm.’ Their task is to use plants to create a harmonious and psychologicallycomforting environment. It is important to find a happy medium – the plants should be neither too many nor too few.