Rethinking Work, Spaces, and the In-Between: Insights from the RGCS Symposium 2025

On January 23–24, 2025, the 10th RGCS Symposium took place at the Politecnico di Milano, organized by the Research Group on Collaborative Spaces (RGCS) It was an exciting event addressing the challenges and opportunities surrounding remote work, hybrid models, and the future of workspaces. The main topic of the conference was "in-between spaces". The event highlighted the profound changes reshaping where and how we work.

1?? Mobile Work as the New Normal: Mobile work is no longer a temporary solution but a permanent shift. Flexibility, talent retention, and productivity gains have solidified its importance. Hybrid models are essential to balance physical and digital needs, as well as freedom and structure. Working from home or in a local coworking space strengthens consumption within municipalities while reducing spending outside them.

2?? Differences regarding Hybrid Work: Employees with a high autonomy level in their work spend more time working from home. Hybrid workers report greater life satisfaction than non-hybrid workers, but gender disparities exist. Married women or parents report no significant improvements in life satisfaction compared to single women, while men show notable gains.

3?? Future Office Design: Reimagining office buildings as sustainable, shared spaces is becoming crucial. The new office is characterized by activity-based working and open spaces. Innovative design concepts foster interaction, belonging, and well-being, creating spaces that are both functional and inspiring.

4?? What is important for the ,Good Vibe’ in Coworking Spaces? Social elements, such as being able to have social conversations or having a sense of community, are at the heart of ‘good vibe’ atmospheres with a more ‘implicit/ deeper’ contribution though providing opportunities for social interactions. Material features, like communal areas or an open space design, support the facilitation of social features through longer and more relaxed conversations, openness, visibility and accessibility, as well as intended and unintended encounters. (Thank you, Dr. Louise Suckley for presenting the fruits of our joint project together with Dr. Abbas Shieh !)

There were many other exciting topics that often made it difficult to choose which session to attend: What makes a place civic? Why do pedestrians take shortcuts? How can academic environments embrace social learning?...

Two highlights were the visits of BASE Milano and Avanzi - Sostenibilità per Azioni Coworking Space.

??The symposium emphasized the importance of rethinking traditional workspaces and embracing hybrid, flexible, and socially-oriented models. A heartfelt thank you to the Politecnico di Milano and everyone who contributed to this insightful event!???

Alessandra Migliore Ilaria Mariotti Chiara Tagliaro Alice Paola Pomè Stefan Haefliger Fran?ois-Xavier de Vaujany Fiza Brakel Santi Furnari Olayiwola Oladiran Stefano Rodighiero Dimitris Manoukas Bernhard Resch Stephanie Heitmann Basti Reh Ann Sophie Lauterbach Anna Ystr?m Matthias Klumpp and many more!

#hybridwork #mobilework #coworking Journal of Openness, Commons & Organizing (JOCO) ZeTT - Das Zukunftszentrum Thüringens