LOS ANGELES-CBRE had quite the year. The leading commercial real estate company took a look at office space inefficiencies, and not only found solutions to the problems but also implemented those solutions at a new global headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles. The result: a revolutionary step forward in office space for traditional users.

Although some might deem the space “creative office,” CBRE has labeled it Workplace 360—an efficient, open-concept office space that encourages collaboration. It is no surprise that the research-minded company did its homework before launching the workspace model. According to Beth Moore, CBRE director of workplace strategy, the process began by engaging with employees and involving them in the innovation period. This was also a learning process for leaders, who discovered that the functional benefits, like increased collaboration, of an open-concept workspace are a greater value than the look of the space. During a nine-month beta period, CBRE tested the new concept on 20 employees before officially launching it in September.

The new space features a 100% free-address policy that requests employees relinquish their personal office space for mobile workstations that change daily. Research from a company study revealed that employees only occupy cubicles 48% of the time, leaving them vacant for the remainder. The free-address policy purges the unused space by creating unassigned workstations that any employee can use along with a wealth of small and large conference rooms and enclosed offices for the team members looking for privacy. All employees have a smart phone, laptop and plug-and-play outlets throughout the office so they can work virtually anywhere.