For Today’s Office, 'Don’t Design Space Based on Emotion'

They’re tearing down office walls and there’s a flight to quality in the commercial office space as executives, the HR team and employees rethink their workspaces with a focus on flexibility and amenities post-COVID.

“It’s so much more than just how many employees you have equals how much square feet you need,” Allison Bittel, senior vice president – principal, Colliers, said during a panel at the CREW Network annual conference in Chicago on Sept. 22.

She was joined by panelists Elena Cutshall, studio director, workplace, Gensler; Isilay Civan, senior vice president – global workplace design lead, Citi; and Mary Cheval, principal, Ware Malcomb.

“You want to create evidence-based design based on facts,” Cheval said. “Don’t choose design based on emotion.”

Civan said to “be intentional with your approach so that it guides you to your north star.”

Focusing on employee experience and having a workplace strategy helps companies meet business goals and can be used to shift the company’s culture, the panel shared.

“Don’t offer employees happy hours and pool tables in the common space until you’ve given your employees the type of [constructed] work environment they need,” Cheval said. “Unlike the past, giving employees a voice (not a vote) in determining office space can go a long way in helping retain workers.”

Bittel said it’s best to determine how often a company holds “all-staff” meetings or needs outdoor spaces before simply building large spaces just to have them.

Choose Strategy, Then Look at Options

“It starts with deciding your strategy,” Bittel said. “Don’t look at options until you’ve determined that.”

In the design and construction, firms are finding that flexible spaces prevail.

“You can do this by selecting the right furniture rather than creating walls,” Cheval said. “This flexibility enables you to adjust should you have to deal with any [unforeseen] crisis. The pandemic really created a forced experiment. We’ve learned that work happens when work happens [and the office space can meet that new dynamic whether in-office, remote or hybrid]. Work is not a location, but an ecosystem that enables work to get done.”

Because the world is still adjusting to life after COVID, Cheval said some developers are adjusting their blueprints mid-stream during construction.

Bittel said in Atlanta, for example, there’s been a big “flight to quality with companies wanting highly amenitized spaces – such as having a bar in the lobby for gatherings – and offices that are adjacent hotels and apartments.”