The evolution of office design has seen several kinds of design elements resurface, get repurposed, and later be disrupted. From cubicles to virtual and casual offices to alternate work settings, this is a space that has seen much activity through the decades.
Spaces that matter
Today, offices are transforming into people-centric spaces, and the design includes elements of adaptability, fluidity, experience, well-being, technology, and engagement. Shared experiences, community spaces, trust, value creation, a whole new appreciation for being together and a renewed sense of community in a hybrid work environment are driving today’s new-age workspaces. Poonam Kothare, Associate Director – Workplace Design, M Moser Associates, says, “Diversity and inclusion also go beyond gender. It is not merely about the male-female ratio. It is also about how empathetic you are to include everybody, who are on different spectrums, who have different choices, and who have different alignments, without really bracketing and defining them.”
So, what this means is that workplace design needs to address and adapt to different requirements. Sheetal, Managing Partner, AEON Design & Development, states that “This ratio of men to women is changing, and in a subtle sense, inclusivity is finally coming into workplace design. Whether you are looking at the lifts, which are more adaptive to the physically challenged, or toilets for the LGQBT community — these are some fundamental facets of a next-gen workplace.”
In fact, washrooms are a significant area where inclusive design can come to the fore. Subhashish Mandal, Design Director, Gensler, says, “Washroom design trends are looking at this multi-layered understanding of what a space can do to set a foundation for diversity at work.”
Post-pandemic changes
If there has been one episode that has changed workplace design, it is the COVID-19 pandemic. As the nature of business is changing, mapping answers to understand needs around innovation and execution that translate to physical collaboration and flexible spaces is the need of the hour. Hybrid and flexible work requires new types of technology and behavioural change, and pilot opportunities. Renuka Rajagopal, Senior Director, Workplace, VMware, says, “COVID has changed everything around us — for businesses, for leaders, for people and for the world. One thing that’s evidently clear is that the power has now shifted to people — to make choices and to demand a more flexible workplace that encapsulates wellness and well-being. More importantly, we are witnessing a shift from “me” to “we.” With changes that were forced on us, we became more agile, adaptable, collaborative, and innovative, even if it meant finding ‘jugaad’ solutions. We embraced technology more than ever before.” VMware, for instance, has neighbourhood concepts with flexible seating and ample collaboration areas for business teams to come together. The need to ensure that the employee experience remains relevant for all, whether they work primarily in the office, at home, or divide their time between both, is also significantly important.
Being inclusive
The importance of a transparent and open conversation is seen as the way forward in workspaces. Tom Sullivan, Vice President, Human Resources, Shaw Contract, says, “When we talk about diversity, people often just think about the visible factors of diversity and forget what is invisible in people’s values. It is their way of thinking and different experiences and perspectives that you do not necessarily see, but understand by working with one another. This means there must be a focus on collaboration with inclusiveness and learning from one another to incorporate a sense of belonging.”
David Bates, Divisional VP of Sales, Shaw Contract, states in agreement that, “Discussions around design and diversity really indicate how alive and important these topics are for any business to succeed in the Indian market.”
Conscious sustainability
Recent studies from across industries show that approximately 63% of people prefer hybrid work and smarter and more efficient workplaces than what it was during pre-COVID. The emerging workforce is shifting its priorities to strive for a better, conscious, sustainable world. New employees are keen to know not just about office policies but also about workplace sustainability, well-being standards, provisions for cycle parking and electric cars, etc. Distributed cloud, distributed workforce and distributed operations are bound to create environmental, social and economic impact and more possibilities for employees from diverse communities and backgrounds to grow and shape the business of the future.
Empathetic designs
As office spaces change to become diverse, equitable and inclusive, there is an urgent need for the design to speak the same language too. Gourav Premchandani, Director, Designer, JOI Designer India, avers, “Diversity, equality and inclusion has been an important aspect for us. In fact, many designers from India are now being sought out to design hospitality projects abroad as well.”
Geetika Jain, Design Director, DSP Design Associates, adds, “Diversity and inclusivity have become a very important aspect of design. We keep it at the top of the pyramid when we start designing any space, as we feel it must be included in our projects by default.”
Likewise, an empathetic design must address issues that go beyond age and religion. Sabarano De, Vertical Head – Corporate Interiors, Edifice Consultants, opines, “You should be inclusive in terms of the age group of people that are going to be working in the office as well as inclusive about race, religion, ethnicity. Hence, special care is being given to design spaces conducive for physically challenged people with special needs.”
The dynamics of workplace design have always been fluid. The new trends of diversity and equality have added a dimension of the human element, which augurs well for the design space.