Workplace to Workspace

The way we work has evolved. What does this mean for experiential & interior design.?(Anyone else already fed up of the term Hybrid Working?)

London is hotting up – no, we don’t just mean the heatwave! The morning commute is busier, trains fuller, the queue for M&S at lunch time is around the block. Although things may not be 100% “back to normal”, London is back to work.?

For some, absence made the heart grow fonder (or at least convinced us to get back onto the tube at rush hour), but it has also given pause to reconsider how we can “make work, work better for us”… or at the very least?where?we do it.

As a design studio we need an environment that encourages creativity, conversation and collaboration - ‘Challenging’ at best on Zoom (…“you’re on mute”). So, it was never in question that we would be back into our London office, though there is inevitable change.?

We all rather selfishly liked rolling out of bed into our “home office”, saving on travel expenses and the lost hours to commuting, not to mention lunchtime temptation and the attached price tag. Even we have been drawn into, dare we say it, the?Hybrid Working Model. It’s not that it’s not right, it’s certainly right now and looks with us to stay … but what does it really mean for people, workspace, and design?

Even if people are no longer in the office Monday-Friday, 9 to 5, there remains a need for a space separate from home, where they can gather, collaborate, meet & greet. Working from home has acted as a catalyst for a collective desire to work more creatively and flexibly, whatever your line of work.?

The Harvard Business Review describes this new way of working as?“the hybrid office”?summarising it as?“primarily a culture space, providing workers with a social anchor, facilitating connections, enabling learning, and fostering unscripted, innovative collaboration.”?

What is?‘a culture space’?in the context of the office and how do we design such a space to meet tomorrow’s needs?

Where there is an office, there is office culture, and they evolve together. Society has been embedded in the?culture of productivity,?and with this came the utilitarian office designed for maximum output, with its individual cubicles and lack of distracting decor. This fed into a?culture of engagement, a blurring of the lines between work and play that accompanied the boom of start-up culture, and the creation of ‘chief happiness officers’ (supposedly to ensure you were happy with the lack of boundaries in both your work/life balance and your workspace).?

Today, we see this culture is shifting deeper towards a?search for meaning?both at an individual and a company-wide level. Work is not separate from life; but it need not dominate it either. It is part of a wider ecosystem, open to wider interpretation and presenting us, as designers, with the challenge of translating these new concepts into real spaces.?

Co-working is no longer reserved purely for the gutsy tech start-up but is now chosen by a wide range of businesses as a more efficient way to work. Consequently, co-working spaces are no longer designed to feel like playgrounds, but rather to?inspire, support and engage.

Understanding and acknowledging this shift was key in our development of a new co-working space (coming soon) in central London. Putting people and experience at the heart of the concept to create flexible and supportive workspaces.

As a space;?adaptable, engaging, and inspiring environment. Incorporate biophilia and ergonomics to lighting, scent, and sound. Seamless and subtle, almost on a subconscious level, working in harmony to create a supportive environment that helps you feel good and work well.?

As an experience;?curated, considered, and elevated through additional services from well-being, food and beverage offerings; including more expansive opportunities for connection beyond the office. Drawing on the benefits of nurturing the co-culture… co-llaborate, co-create, co-exist!

Another prolific phrase integrating its way into all aspects of experiential design is?“blurring boundaries”. Work is not just for the workplace or home office… we see?hotels?reacting to this need for hybrid working space within their lobbies creating a more accessible space that welcomes an inclusive and relaxed way of working for a new kind of digital nomad.??Capitalising on their existing assets by promoting their communal spaces as a co-working offering. The result is a space that is designed to be as comfortable as your own home, but also offers you the opportunity to connect with others and provides a level of service and hospitality that you would expect at a hotel but sets them apart in the workspace.?

Even restaurants are seeing the opportunity of how hybrid work can be an extension of their offer… reserve a table in off-peak hours, get discounts of food and drink, use the private dining room as a meeting room. Potentially much more desirable to certain clientele and ways of co-working.

When it comes to designing “tomorrow’s” version of work - whether that is isolated in co-working or incorporated into hospitality - start with considering the full spectrum of human needs required to?inspire a creative, collaborative and connected culture of working.?

Maybe a desk or two also, but definitely no funky slide or breakout bean bags!?

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Quote Source: The Harvard Business Review, April 2021