According to Aristotle, water seeks its own level. I believe the same principle can be applied to “the office of the future”. In recent years, designers, planners and various technicians have written countless articles on the subject.
Many views conflicted or included extreme proposals. Open space plans vs. traditional offices is an example of one conflicting view. An extreme example of office planning proposes one-way circulation in hallways and circles with six-foot radii around desks to separate people.
The written conversation about “the office of the future” began before the covid-19 pandemic but intensified as centralized offices emptied and workers set up home office facilities. Vaccines and treatments for the virus have provided workers with optional ways to return to the office. Approximately 30% will continue to work from home fulltime. Of the other 70%, slightly more than half will return to a central corporate office fulltime. The remainder will be part of a hybrid workforce that spends up to 4 days in remote workplace locations. Hybridization and full-time remote workers may result in smaller and fewer centralized corporate office facilities. Their design has yet to be fully defined.
The shared workplace center will be a potentially important option for remote workers. Historically, they have catered to start-up teams, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. The pandemic has added an influx of small to medium sized businesses, large corporates, and a variety of remote workers. These additions will impact the design, operation, and economic structure of future shared workplace centers.
Traditionally designed shared workplace centers are made up of small private offices, traditional conference rooms, pantries, reception areas, and mail, copy and minor support services. In future models, private offices are enclosed spaces that will house one to thirty persons. The reception area will be part of an open plan that supports work, community and relaxation. The pantry will become a large kitchen that includes a client gathering area. Conference rooms will be flexible and designed to support several configurations. Other key elements will stress client wellness, flexibility, and a variety of special need spaces. Questions still remain about where or how these new components will be applied in future shared workplace models.
In the future, centralized corporate office design will be better defined and shared workplace centers planners will develop models that will include new space component combinations and services. Over time, future office facilities will be less revolutionary and more evolutionary. In other words, as with water, they will seek their own levels.
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