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SITE LINES
The case for workspace in a hybrid future
What is the case for the office post-pandemic? Mark O’Neill, MD at Edge Architecture & Design, explores why and how offices need to be repositioned, highlighting the example of a recent head office project for a clothing retailer
A
n ONS study published this February found that after Government guidance to work from home was lifted in England and Scotland, more than eight out of 10 people who had worked from home said they planned to continue hybrid working post-pandemic. Further ONS surveys show that from February to May 2022, the proportion of those hybrid working rose from 13% to 24% and the percentage of those working exclusively from home fell from 22% to 14%. With this fundamental shift taking place, how do we – as architects and designers – help clients re-examine the purpose of the office, address the shift to hybrid working, and create the optimum workspaces? Research from Dr Matthew Davies at Leeds University Business School suggests that one size can’t fit
all, when it comes to the design of hybrid and future ways of working.
Our perception is that organisations are developing their workspaces to be more focused around moments of human connection, and on shared values and behaviours. Every action, interaction and experience is a touchpoint with a client’s brand, and as such we should take time to craft those experiences to support the collective purpose or belief. This includes realising the importance of how spaces make us feel and behave, not just how they enable productive work. While many of the fundamentals have changed, at the core, feeling ‘right’ in a workspace and having the right emotional experience are going to be major drivers of the return to the office.
JOULES IN THE CROWN Now a major lifestyle brand, Joules commissioned Edge to design a flexible and attractive new head office in Market Harborough that would help bring staff back to the workplace
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ADF AUGUST 2022
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