The way we design workplaces holds significance because it directly impacts the well-being and productivity of individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how we perceive a workplace today. The expectations of what a workplace should offer have increased, and many prefer working from home for several days a week. This shift has consequences for the culture within a workplace. Simultaneously, it risks negatively affecting knowledge sharing and the quality of work processes as physical interactions become less frequent.

What are the new needs and requirements for the workplace?
We have a collaboration with a client who experienced significant issues in the aftermath of the pandemic. Employees simply did not feel like coming into the office. They struggled with problems such as noise disturbances and headaches, and the existing spaces no longer fulfilled their needs. There was a lack of necessary space for both meetings and concentration. Either all meeting rooms were occupied, or they were too large and occupied too many empty square meters - highlighting a lack of coherence within the building. Simultaneously, the company faced a problem with recruitment as skilled employees sought opportunities elsewhere.

For a larger auditing firm, we developed a workspace design plan that reduced the space requirement from 32,000 to 8,000 square meters. Many employees are salespeople and consultants who spend a significant amount of time outside the office and therefore do not need a dedicated workspace. Consequently, many seats remained unoccupied, creating dead zones that negatively impacted the environment. As part of the interior design solution, a booking system was implemented where employees reserve a workspace in the morning when they arrive. This ensures there are people and activity every day, transforming the office landscape from a lifeless environment to a lively one.

We humans have a social and professional need to meet and be together. This also applies in a workplace setting. Therefore, the design and programming of functions in workplace settings should support well-being - more than ever before. If well-being is not a focus in a workplace, employees will disappear. Naturally, not everything can be solved through design, but it is possible to create the best possible framework based on the specific needs and premises of a given company. We know that there is a growing need for flexibility in design, quiet zones, meeting spaces, and activity-based areas where various professional backgrounds can come together across departments within an organization.

How do you ensure that the needs of the users are met?
It's crucial for a successful outcome that the users - including management, employees, service personnel, and other users - are heard and involved before we initiate the actual programming and design process. For a government agency, we established a process involving 12 workshops across the entire organization where everyone's dreams and thoughts were brought to the table. From the rooftop terrace to the coffee machine to the color of tables and access to outdoor areas, all inputs were transformed into data that we utilized in the subsequent process.

What will be important in the future design of workplaces?
There will be much more focus on sustainability, biobased materials, and how we reuse existing resources. This can take the form of transforming and repurposing furniture and materials, as well as upgrading older buildings into modern workspaces with excellent acoustics, lighting, and functional programming of spaces.

And when we talk about new constructions and headquarters, we see an increasing desire from clients to open their buildings to more people. It's about sharing square meters with entirely different functions, such as a café, shops, and multiple companies coexisting in a kind of community. There's a growing trend to "connect" to an existing local environment. It's both cost-effective and has the potential to create new dialogue among companies while contributing to a more diverse street-level cityscape if the edge zones and the environment around the buildings are also considered.

What role does design play in companies?
Creating something specific for a company provides identity and pride, both for the employees and management. It strengthens the sense of place within a building. Not all furniture and equipment need to be custom made. It's possible to have many generic tables and chairs, and especially, it's often feasible to repurpose what already exists by giving it a new coat of paint or new linoleum on the tables. Thus, the focus can be on custom designs in key meeting rooms and common areas, which we design and develop in collaboration with, for example, carpenters and blacksmiths.

How is classical design linked with the modern flexible workplace?
There's already a very strong connection because what is classic - good quality and robustness - is precisely adaptable. Buildings and high-quality spaces are adaptable and not confined to one specific purpose. The classic and timeless aspects are characterized by thorough craftsmanship, and the layout and design of furniture reflect functionality. Additionally, the durable solution is always site-specific and designed for users - living people - whose well-being is influenced by factors such as colors, daylight, moods, and spaces for both community and concentration.