Towards a comfortable, safe and healthy work environment

Not surprisingly, because in companies where employee well-being is a priority, absenteeism is lower, productivity is higher and staff turnover is lower. Interior Glassolutions BV's glass systems contribute significantly to this.

Working in an open-plan office apparently has many advantages: maximum daylight flows in, employees can easily and quickly make contact with colleagues and square meters are optimally utilized. Yet there is also a downside, says Geurt Roelofsen, director of Interior Glassolutions BV. 

"In an open-plan office, there is often (too) much noise. For example, research by PanelWizard among 1,000 respondents shows that two-thirds (!) of employees in an open-plan office are distracted by ambient noise several times a day. In particular, calling (75%) and talking colleagues (72%), ringing phones (66%) and noise from playing videos (54%) are experienced as very distracting. The consequences are difficulty concentrating (51%), feeling restless (34%) and fatigue (27%). Our glass systems combat this. Thanks to our all-glass walls and doors, daylighting, optimal sightlines and mutual interaction are maintained, while noise pollution is no longer an issue."

Custom durable glass solutions

"In our projects, we often act jointly with architects, clients and contractors," Roelofsen said. "We like to delve into the complexity of a project and translate this into customized glass solutions. In doing so, we explicitly take into account the aesthetic and building-technical wishes of architect and client, but also laws, standards and wishes regarding sound insulation, fire protection, burglary prevention as well as sustainability. Together with our French co-owner Saint-Gobain Glass, we have mapped out the environmental effects (life cycle analysis/LCA) of our glass products, from extraction (raw materials/source), manufacture and processing to transport, use and waste disposal (cradle to grave). We have also immersed ourselves in sustainability methodologies such as BREEAM, LEED and WELL. This has led to beautiful WELL projects in Son (new HumanTotalCare building) and Amsterdam (new Booking.com building). Here, among other things, we supplied and installed full-glass walls and doors with sound insulation of up to 60 dB (!), including hygienic door openers. The sound insulation of the various products has been demonstrated in Peutz's independent acoustic laboratory."