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What the future holds for office spaces

As office spaces start to re-open with social distancing in place, experts debate what the future holds for workplace design.

Nicholas Maclean, MD, CBRE, predicts that COVID-19 will accelerate radical reimagining of the workplace and the boundaries of what an office is will be pushed. So how will this translate into what we see in office interiors?

Cem Kapancioglu, CEO, CK Architecture Interiors, predicts an “open space playground for designers”, where spaces will be smaller, technology will be prevalent, innovation will be omnipotent, and design and functionality will be decided by algorithms

Eric berchtold, USM

USM supplies modular furniture systems for offices. Eric Berchtold, sales director, Middle East, Africa & India for the Swiss brand explains how the brand is adapting design to create distance in common spaces.

“The process of changing spaces to meet social distancing needs to be approached with a certain level of familiarity.

“With such recent disruption, elements that feel recognisable can help to settle people into a new environment, allowing for the same level of usability, just in a slightly different format. It’s also worth exploring designs that are multifunctional.”

As well as furniture, designers need to consider the role of lighting in the socially-distanced office.

Jaspal Bal, Light link

The lighting firm’s founder says: “Human centric lighting, and its role in productivity, has been a hot topic over the last couple of decades.