WELLNESS

Concerns about employee wellbeing and pollution in the workplace has forced companies and designers to develop sustainable offices that have a minimal environmental footprint and impact on health.

Traditional construction methods emphasise the use of cheap, replaceable materials without considering the long-term impact for future tenants as well as the necessary refurbishing and new fitting-out of offices.

Materials such as drywall and plaster walls produce harmful and volatile compounds when demolished. These VOCs are a significant cause of pollution at work and can cause discomfort, respiratory issues, and eyesight damage. One quick look at a ventilation system’s particle filters in an office building is enough to see the persistence of VOCs and the damage its causes on both mechanical systems and people.

Aside from dust generated by drywall interior fit-outs, Optima’s prefabricated office partitions tackle another important source of pollution in the workplace: hazardous compounds emitted by paint walls. Even years after the initial paint job, harmful VOCs are still released in the room and may be a factor of headaches, allergies, and respiratory issues among workers.

Conversely, Optima’s solid partitions undergo industrial coating processes through which powder paintings are pulverised on steel plates before being baked in temperature-controlled ovens to freeze compounds and particles onto the steel.