New work needs new spaces

SUMMARY: Our lives are shaped by spaces. A world of work that is becoming increasingly networked, open, transparent, democratic and versatile also creates and demands new work spaces. Not as a new state, but as fluid entities in which we move just as dynamically. The office is not dead. It will become more humane, more flexible, and more responsive - with and perhaps without technology.

Why the future needs space

For centuries, most people have spent the majority of their waking hours working. And it is currently still true that most of them usually visit specific places for this purpose. This alone explains why space is a significant aspect of work.

For much longer than we have been going into offices, it has been a human need to define the space in which we and others are located. Our behaviour and our language are characterised by spatial orientation. We talk about looking forward or backward, avoiding compartmental thinking and instead thinking out of the box, and being politically on the left or the right. Even our metaphors for the virtual network correspond to spatial realities, such as data highway, cyberspace, chat rooms, network architecture, and homepages. We build caves, houses, fences and beach huts. And they give us a sense of identity, demarcation and belonging, freedom and protection.

We describe ourselves as belonging to a particular place. We imagine, create and animate spaces. We agree on periods and points of time. Without space, movement would not be detectable at all. Plato defined "space" as a third place alongside “being” and "generation" i.e. becoming. The ancient Greek philosopher described space as a structure that absorbs everything – spiritual as well as material (Schroer, 2006).

In sociology, the differentiation between “place” and “space” is often said to be determined by the fact that only interaction turns a place into a space. The human urge to create spaces, and to “locate” thoughts and things is often an attempt to reduce complexity and gain a sense of control. It is unclear whether complexity really is increasing or whether it is simply its visibility that is growing. However, space appears to be existential when it comes to questions of the future.

So let's return to the future of work. This all makes it very clear that new work requires new spaces. What can these look like and what effect do they have?

“Even if people tend to work less and less in the office, the results of the study show that the office environment has an intrinsic influence on the well-being and performance of the employees and significantly increases staff loyalty”

Changing spatial conditions

The Fraunhofer Institute's Office Analytics Study from 2018 states: “Even if people tend to work less and less in the office, the results of the study show that the office environment has an intrinsic influence on the well-being and performance of the employees and significantly increases staff loyalty” (Jurecic et al., 2018). Although it is against their nature, people spend a great deal of time every day in artificial light and a man-made indoor climate. The physiological and psychological advantages of spatial design and sustainable construction methods will become even more relevant in the future.

In addition, the changing organisational cultures will also be spatially defined. Because working conditions shape behaviour, space becomes an elementary design element for successful work, as it is directly visible. In order to work collaboratively, to be transparent, to experiment, to organise, to focus - you always need the right space. This is also true for schools. In the article “Open spaces for thought: A school without classrooms - a bad joke or a revolution?” by Anne Backhaus (2019) about “a new building that breaks with old habits and structures” she says: “People make the space surrounding them their own. They are however also influenced by it. Despite this, the concept of 'the learning space as a third teacher', as defined by the late Italian educational scientist Loris Malaguzzi, is still not taken seriously enough.”

Experience reports confirm that, contrary to expectations, behaviour patterns have changed. “At a school without doors [...] there is a kind of whispering culture, because everyone pays more attention to each other” says Marc Kirschbaum, a professor of architecture theory (Backhaus, 2019). The research projects described by Anne Backhaus also document the positive effect of architecture on the acquisition of knowledge. This is far from insignificant for the continuous development of knowledge-based society. 

Caution is required when reviewing the existing situation. Present-day realities, such as non-transparent offices, exclusive executive floors, parking spaces and elevators may have already been made redundant by the current social structures. Especially because up to now, spaces have often been planned in a rigid and permanent way. Here, it already becomes apparent that greater flexibility is required.

Spaces for constant change

People often speak of only uncertainty being certain. We actually expect constant change. If we assume that especially those organisations that remain flexible will be fit for the future, then we will need excellent prerequisites to communicate the continuous flow of new ideas. We should always remember: Said is not heard. Heard is not understood. Understood is not agreed. Agreed is not done.

Gestalt psychology allows us to deduce the obstacles to change: 1. contact, 2. understanding, 3. acceptance, 4. action. For behaviour to change, people have to come into contact, to understand and to accept. Where do people come into contact? How do people best understand? What is needed for acceptance? There are numerous answers to these questions. But up to now only very few of these questions have been addressed.

The innovation consultancy firm R/GA redesigned its headquarters in New York some years ago, focusing on a central entrance/exit as a type of marketplace. This creates a targeted point of contact. Numerous, dynamically emerging projected images provide information on the latest orders, solutions and team compositions. This also creates a direct understanding of the issues surrounding the company.

The obstacle of acceptance can usually be overcome by means of active involvement. In the first step this is achieved through transparency and then expressed through collaboration. So how does co-creation materialise? Through interaction and discussion. At R/GA in New York, double flooring was installed to make the infrastructure so easily accessible that the spaces can be reconfigured at any time. It is designed to allow its users to constantly adapt to their environment. In this way, numerous fluid clusters are created over a large area, enabling allocation without exclusion.

Modern office spaces are open and inviting, and this includes encounters with the outside world (individuals from outside the company). For the final obstacle to change - action - spaces are required that are action-optimised, and here the individual needs are multifaceted.

Spaces that address needs

The description of the core concerns of human activity (Brandes, 2018) allows many conclusions to be drawn about spatial design: Setting boundaries, trust, cooperation, steering attention, building bridges and providing space, and much more. Our day-to-day work is becoming increasingly varied and the demands on our working environment are growing accordingly.

In state-of-the-art office architecture processes, the respective work methods are recorded with the participation of the user groups and the corresponding space requirements are then clarified. This results in, among other things, spatial conditions that allow for focused work and create ideal conditions for dialogue. They are designed for social interaction and are as integrative as possible in a single location. This, of course, also includes specific requirements for new types of activity, for example interaction with new technologies.

"You can only enable innovation structurally by creating spaces for free thinking."

Quote from Judith Muster (sociologist and consultant) in an interview with brandeins.

In future, however, not only will our professional activities be increasingly multifaceted and therefore less and less routine-oriented, but also the actual challenges and procedures will sometimes not even be identifiable or plannable, let alone tried and tested. The quest for new approaches and the development of innovations is one of the most important entrepreneurial tasks. In structural terms, this can only be achieved with spaces for free thought and experimentation (brandeins, 2019).

The actual success will always depend on the level of connectivity. Only when not every breach of the rules is punished will the courage emerge to allow mistakes to be made during experimentation. Only when there is genuine interest in the perspectives of others can a culture of communication between equals be supported during a game of table football.

Space and culture mutually influence each other. How resilient are new organisational models if the office is still organised in accordance with hierarchical levels? People will attempt to position the culture in their cognitive maps. A decisive task for space planners is therefore also the installation and utilisation of these areas. In addition to traditional communication work, dramatic effect can be particularly useful here. When we provide places with stories, this makes them more accessible (Mikunda, 2005).

And last but not least, companies strive to create the most effective working environment possible. This explains the leisure park-like campuses of the various technology companies, for example facebook. Here, the staff can not only move from the telephone booth to the gym, and then on to the co-working space with a stopover in a veritable culinary paradise. They are also able to visit the dentist, and make use of bicycle repair and childcare services in the same place. Maximum centralisation for optimised work and lifestyle processes.

 Digital interaction spaces and offline spaces

Digitisation is already dramatically transforming our everyday lives. The use of technologies will continue to increase and the spaces where they are used will change accordingly: Voice assistants are replacing manual input devices, mobile devices and wearables are eliminating the stationary workstation, and mixed reality is connecting virtual and physical worlds. Artificial intelligence, in particular, requires experimental areas. Spaces where people and machines can meet and interact with each other.

On the one hand, new spaces for interaction with technology are being created in this way. On the other hand, needs for more physical resonance may arise. In his popular book “Resonance”, Hartmut Rosa (2019) describes how working relationships always require material mediation. Does this mean that in the future, spaces will be created that allow us to work in a tactile way with Big Data in the cloud?

Schroer (2006) also explains that space is becoming increasingly important in relation to the issue of globalisation because it seems to guarantee a feeling of security. Are we really going to address complexity with separation? And do we actually want to create spaces on an analogue instead of a networked basis? Can we really meet the new demand for resilience in this way?

“Supermodernity“ has created “non-places“ (Augé, 2019). These are places that are not characterised by identity, connections and history and thus produce anonymity and loneliness. In the future, will we strive for more individuality and personal, direct encounters? For spaces that enable us to find a sense of identity and self-awareness? This could be in the form of co-working facilities in the countryside, showrooms that reflect the company’s history and mission, temporary outdoor spaces, mobile modules, creative workshops or simply quiet spaces. 

“Real encounters with real others are vital for the development of the human social system and cannot be replaced by anything else”

Fluid spatial experience

Ultimately, it can be expected that we will create diverse spaces that address needs, that nature and technology will be seamlessly intertwined and that we will move dynamically within them. This mobility can also benefit us cognitively.

Neuroscience proves that movement induces neurogenesis in the adult brain and its health (Raichlen & Alexander, 2017). John Le Carré is understandably often quoted: “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world” And this is only amplified in homeworking.

Inspiration and debate as well as the opportunity for chance encounters and changes of perspective in self-awareness will continue to be highly relevant in the future. The current pandemic and social distancing highlight the technological possibilities while at the same time making them directly tangible: “Real encounters with real others are vital for the development of the human social system and cannot be replaced by anything else” (Guggenberger,1999).

Assuming, then, that technological and social change will generate more humanity and genuineness, we have to create spaces that fulfil human needs. These, like almost everything in life, will continue to evolve.

In the implementation this means: challenging the users of the space in an iterative way, thinking freely, concretising and continuously realising new ideas. Let’s together create some exceptional spaces for exceptional work!

Jens Nachtwei and Antonia Sureth (Humboldt University Berlin) have published a collection of 122 specialist articles by 181 authors about the future of work bundled on 539 pages as a free eBook in german. Check it out.

Bibliography:

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Backhaus, A. (2019, 23. Januar). Offene Denkr?ume. ZEIT online.

https://www.zeit.de/2019/05/schulgebaeude-gymnasium-architektur-innovation-freiraum

brandeins (2019). Judith Muster im Interview – Keine Chefsache. https://www.brandeins.de/magazine/brand-eins-thema/innovation-2019/judith-muster-interview-keine-chefsache

Brandes, U. (2018). Social Energy – Ein Inspiratorial für die Gestalter der neuen Arbeitswelt. Campus.

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Rosa, H. (2019). Resonanz – Eine Soziologie der Weltbeziehung. Suhrkamp.

Schroer, M. (2006). R?ume, Orte, Grenzen: Auf dem Weg zu einer Soziologie des Raums. Suhrkamp.