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Future of Work

Settings

The shift many organizations are making toward a hybrid workplace strategy requires rethinking their physical spaces. To help, we've developed insight-led settings built on our Living Office framework, all tailored to the types of experiences the office is uniquely well-suited to support.

Community Socialization

By providing areas that encourage people to interact with their extended networks, the office can help reestablish these connections.

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Team Collaboration

Offices that prioritize team-owned spaces better accommodate longer-term collaboration and unscheduled chats that can spark new thinking.

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Individual Focus

For individuals who struggle to focus while working from home, a return to the physical office can provide a respite for concentration and focused work.

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Community Socialization

These settings are optimized to nurture relationships beyond one's immediate circle—connections that are critical for establishing and maintaining culture and for helping people feel a sense of purpose and belonging at work.

  • Reunion Plaza

    A vibrant public space designed to welcome people to the office and invite them to sit down, be comfortable, and reconnect with one another. The Reunion Plaza is a vibrant public space at the heart of an office landscape.

  • Open Forum 1.0

    An expressive, captivating, and magnetic community space designed to draw people in for a range of functions. Finish options add to the energetic character of this flexible, community-focused setting.

  • Open Forum 2.0

    A casual and adaptable community space designed using a streamlined vocabulary of furnishings to keep the focus on people and their work. A streamlined vocabulary of furnishings in this multipurpose space keeps the focus on people and their work.

Team Collaboration

To better accommodate longer-term team collaboration and create more opportunities for spontaneous interaction, organizations need to flip the prevailing model of workplace design and shift emphasis from individual workstations to group spaces.

  • Neighborhood 1.0

    A workplace neighborhood that features highly adjustable ergonomic chairs, sit-to-stand desks, and other elements that help individuals perform their assigned tasks comfortably and efficiently. This neighborhood helps team members work independently, comfortably, and efficiently.

  • Neighborhood 2.0

    A workplace neighborhood designed for a team that balances independent work with interdependent decision-making, featuring comfortable furnishings that promote a collegial atmosphere. This team setting balances independent work and interdependent decision-making.

  • Neighborhood 3.0

    A workplace neighborhood accentuated pops of warm color to encourage positive interactions and plenty of places for team members to connect one-on-one or in small groups to discuss projects. This neighborhood is designed for teams whose success depends on coordinated effort.

  • Neighborhood 4.0

    A workplace neighborhood for a high-energy creative team, featuring a variety of flexible work points punctuated by niches where quick collaborations can take place. Teams with improvisational workstyles need spaces like this to facilitate constant interaction.

  • Dynamic Meeting Space

    An evolved meeting space with the central conference table removed and replaced by reconfigurable furnishings like mobile whiteboards to encourage meeting attendees to make the space their own. In-person meetings have evolved beyond gathering around a conference table.

Individual Focus

With spare rooms called into duty as home offices and the pull on our attention from children, roommates, or extended family, working from home can be challenging. The physical office can become a respite for concentration and focused work.

  • Study Hall

    A workplace setting comprised of highly varied solo work points designed to support focus, thinking, learning, or reading in proximity to others. The Study Hall is designed to support focus, thinking, and reading in proximity to others.

  • Quiet Lounge

    An office setting that looks more like a warm, inviting sanctuary from the stresses of the workday, where people can be introspective without completely withdrawing from their colleagues. This setting welcomes people looking to relax while remaining connected to their community.

  • Focus Room

    A grouping of three small office settings designed to accommodate one person doing focused work independently or conversing with remote colleagues via videoconference. A Focus Room provides acoustic and visual privacy to support independent work.

  • Retreat

    A grouping of three one-person work settings designed as calming spaces devoid of technology with the goal of providing employees a moment of rest for both body and mind, resulting in higher overall productivity. A Retreat invites people to withdraw for a few minutes and escape the stresses of work.