Hydroponics in the Office — Green, Sustainable and Cost-Effective

Many of us spend a significant part of our lives at work. We sit in front of screens, make phone calls, attend meetings and chase deadlines, surrounded by walls, glass, furniture and technology. The modern office may be practical, well-designed and highly functional — and yet, at times, remarkably lifeless. And then, suddenly, a plant appears. We spoke to Tamás Kiss, Managing Director of Decorum Irodakertész Kft., about the increasingly sophisticated role of plants in the modern workplace.

It is not necessarily a small potted ficus sitting on a windowsill — perhaps brought in from home years ago and somehow still being kept alive. Increasingly, office planting is about deliberately designed green spaces that are considered part of the workplace from the outset, rather than added as an afterthought.

Office planting is now about far more than simply putting a few plants around the room.

In a modern workplace, plants serve a dual purpose. They influence the impression a visitor gets when entering a company's offices, but they also affect the people who spend their working days there.

A thoughtfully planted office can feel warmer, friendlier and more inviting. Greenery can soften the sterile, industrial feel of some modern workplaces and create an atmosphere in which people do not feel quite so much like cogs in a machine.

This is particularly relevant at a time when businesses are increasingly talking about employee retention, company culture and the quality of the working environment. Alongside salary and job title, there is another question worth asking: what does it actually feel like to walk into work each morning?

Plants will not, of course, solve all a company's problems. But they can contribute to an environment that supports comfort, concentration, creativity and general wellbeing.

A green office, then, is not simply about aesthetics. When planned properly, plants can become a living part of company culture.

Fewer Plants, Greater Impact?

Office planting has changed considerably in recent years. The rather random approach of the past is increasingly being replaced by something much more deliberate.

The aim is no longer necessarily to put a plant on every available surface. In fact, higher-end workplaces are often moving in the opposite direction: fewer plants, but larger, more distinctive specimens.

There is a practical reason for this.

An office crowded with plants can quickly lose its functionality. If foliage blocks a computer screen, gets in the way of work, makes watering difficult or creates a risk around electrical equipment, decoration can quickly become a problem rather than an advantage.

One of the defining characteristics of a good office horticulturalist is precisely that they do not seek attention. Office plants do not need to dominate the room. They simply need to feel as though they belong there.

The Planning Should Start at the Drawing Board

Ideally, an office horticulturalist would become involved during the interior design stage of a project. This is still far from standard practice, even though many decisions would be considerably easier — and cheaper — to make at this point.

What will the light levels be? Where will there be sufficient natural light, and where will artificial lighting be required? How can the space be designed so that plants can thrive in the long term?

These are not minor details to be dealt with later.

Choosing the wrong plants can result in significant additional costs. If a plant does not receive enough light, it will eventually deteriorate. Without appropriate care, the same thing can happen. The company then loses not only the plant itself, but also an investment that could have been planned more effectively from the beginning.

According to the specialist, thinking ahead saves money here too. Plant selection, the choice of technology and decisions about long-term sustainability should all be considered before the office is completed.

Plants Need the Right Place, Too

Planting an office is anything but a one-size-fits-all exercise.

A bright room with large windows may suit completely different plants from a space with very little natural light. The role of plants in a creative team's communal area may also be quite different from their role in a more enclosed financial department.

A reception area, meeting room, executive office and shared workspace all serve different purposes. The planting needs to reflect that.

This is why a professional assessment is not primarily about asking what sort of flowers someone happens to like. The more important questions concern the characteristics of the space, the furniture, how the area is used, the available light and the heating system.

Plants are not independent decorative objects. They are living elements within a wider system. And, as with any system, things work best when the individual components complement one another.

Some People Really Do Want a Jungle

There are, of course, business owners and executives who genuinely dream of turning their office into a jungle.

The specialist has encountered such ideas, although he points out that they remain the exception rather than the rule. Creating a rich indoor landscape is not simply an aesthetic decision; it is also a financial one.

If a company has both the budget and the desire to invest heavily in greenery, there is nothing to stop it creating a spectacular environment. For most businesses, however, that is not really the objective.

The more important question is how to create a solution that is sustainable, economical and aesthetically pleasing over the long term.

That is what distinguishes professional office horticulture from floristry. The objective is not to create an impressive visual effect for a moment, but a living environment capable of functioning successfully for years.

Perhaps one of the most important points to emerge from our conversation is that sustainability cannot simply be a marketing buzzword when it comes to office planting.

It is not enough to spend a substantial amount of money on plants once, only to discover a few years later that they have died and the whole process has to start again.

A successful solution needs to work over the long term.

This is where hydroponically grown plants can offer a particularly effective solution. Within certain limits, watering can be handled either by the company's own employees or by an external service provider, while the horticultural specialist can carry out the necessary professional maintenance periodically — for example, three or four times a year.

At first glance, this may seem like a greater risk, since not every aspect of plant care is being carried out by the same specialist. In practice, however, with the right system and a little experience, the approach can be maintained successfully for many years.

According to the specialist, the average length of such contracts is more than five years.

Can Plants Reveal the Character of a Workplace?

It is an interesting question.

Can you recognise the character of an office through its plants?

Perhaps you can.

The working environment of a creative team will naturally call for a different atmosphere from that of a highly regulated financial company. Not necessarily because one needs more plants than the other, but because the way the space is used — and the culture of the organisation — may call for a different environment.

In this sense, plants communicate.

Not through words, but through atmosphere.

A completely sterile office built around straight lines and industrial materials creates a very different impression from a workplace filled with living greenery. The former can easily feel impersonal; the latter can introduce a sense of biophilic balance.

Almost as if the company were saying:

This is not simply a place where you work. It is a place where you spend part of your life.

Ultimately, office horticulture is not about how many plants can be fitted into a square metre.

It is about the kind of environment in which we spend a significant part of our lives.

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