How is the workplace evolving?
Years ago, you went to the office to work and that was it. Now we’re spending more time at work. [For our clients], we’re taking cues from residential, boutique hotels, and high-end fine dining. The best workplaces today are thinking about health, education, science, technology, and hospitality all under a sustainable and healthy mindset. The workforce today is made up of more races, genders, nationalities, and backgrounds than it has ever been. This diversity fuels innovation and success, and it’s only going to grow richer in the future.
How do you make wellness a part of every workplace?
We let daylight and views penetrate the space and have a well-filtered air supply so people don’t get tired. A big part of it is having healthy alternatives. A lot of our clients are providing sustainable and healthy food choices that are often paid for by the employer. It’s not [only] about having a healthy culture and business, it’s about attracting and keeping top talent.
And the design has evidence to back it up, correct?
It’s an exciting time because our data shows [how design] impacts business either in terms of reduced sick days, reduced attrition, increased retention, etc. When our clients are willing to share more information on their historical data, we’re able to dive deeper and help them achieve even greater business goals.
How do your concepts adapt to how people work?
We’re assuming flexibility in a much more meaningful way where the workstation has modular components that allow workers to have different settings based on the task they’re doing. There has to be a lot of hackability in the design and an element they can make their own to support the way they work.
Has the coworking boom influenced office design?
Coworking has shown that, with turnkey solutions, anyone can have anything on demand. [Coworking companies] are able to curate that because they’re assuming a general aesthetic of the masses. However, coworking doesn’t allow for the unique culture of each business or the unique demographic that each organization has. It has pushed us to think more nimbly.
