THE OFFICE has seen perhaps the biggest and most rapid transformation ever since the pandemic halted ‘business as usual’ and prompted a sea-change in mindset for employers and workers alike. Conventional notions of what the workspace needed to look like – and how much of the working week people needed to physically be there – were upended as remote working took on a new resonance.


Rumours of the death of the office have been wildly


exaggerated, however. Instead, the spaces in which we work have been reinvented, updated, sometimes downsized, but also revolutionised. We ask a selection of experts in the field for their take on the opportunities, challenges and creative inspiration to be had from striving to ensure that the workplace of the future delivers versatile, productive, positive and balanced places for people to spend at least some of their working week.


Q&A Kate Mason


Principal & workplace interiors lead, Woods Bagot


What are your thoughts currently on office design and what do clients now require from architects and designers since Covid?


Flexibility is key at the moment. We’re also finding that understanding behavioural patterns is fundamental to ensuring the workspace is agile enough to withstand consistent change. Tis often means drawing on our industry experience to help clients navigate a sometimes complex journey to find the right solution for them.


How proactive are clients on thinking ahead for projects for next year or beyond?


We’re finding that clients are much more cautious than they were prior to the pandemic. Tere is real uncertainty around workspace requirements, what changes may happen over a given lease period, and whether a delivered space will uphold the change.


Right The post-Covid ofice is a place of work, but also one of play and socialisation


What would you say are the seismic changes from office design pre Covid and now?


Since Covid, it would appear there is more autonomy given


to employees. Te workplace is about experience now, and understanding how users want to experience their space matters more than ever.


What have been the biggest design challenges and opportunities to emerge from the shift in the role of the office in recent years?


We’re designing complete flexibility into our workspaces – this is so that clients can adapt to an ever-changing workplace. User control on all levels also plays a major role in how we design spaces. Tere needs to be technology to adapt to hybrid meetings, ensuring engagement for all meeting attendees, both in the room and on VC.


What key exhibitions, events or other sources help to keep you inspired?


I find that the awards ceremonies are great for seeing all the best recently completed projects. Our industry in London is very close, and having a broad network from all corners of consultancy and construction also gives us a peek into what is happening.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141