The pandemic brought about some common beliefs on work and workplaces. One of which is that people are more productive doing focused work at home and creative work at the office. However, this is not always the case for everyone. Many people prefer focussed work in the office or find it challenging to work from home. As hybrid working culture continues to emerge, offices must provide spaces for both individual and collaborative work. The need for a balance between private and shared spaces remains essential, and acoustic pods are not enough. Providing people with the right spaces for privacy, quiet, and focus is critical in supporting activities that could be carried out in an ideal home working environment. The challenge for designers is to create spaces that allow people to work with distractions and to remain focused. The goal is to provide an equivalent experience to that people enjoy at home.

As the pandemic has shifted the way people work, Cisco has been reimagining the office experience for the hybrid-work revolution. The company emphasizes that people come back to the office to collaborate and socialize, rather than for individual work, and has already moved its Atlanta and New York City locations to have fewer offices, video in almost every room, and no designated desks for employees. Cisco's approach differs from amenities landlords are offering to lure employees back to the office, and the company plans to expand its strategy to most "tier one" cities.

Peloton Interactive Inc. is targeting business clients to bring its offerings into more commercial buildings as it attempts to prop up flagging finances. The company is using Peloton for Business to move its bike and interactive app into hotels, corporate wellness centers, apartment buildings, educational institutions, healthcare facilities and neighborhood gyms. Peloton for Business is described as a “unified portfolio of B2B wellbeing solutions for enterprise clients.” The business initiative will allow employers to offer the app as a worker benefit, and the company is also attempting to sell more bikes to hotels, residential buildings and office gyms.

WeWork's potential bankruptcy could worsen the already struggling office market with vacancy, sublease space, and maturing debt. WeWork's small slice of the overall office market still has tenants and landlords considering the impact of a potential bankruptcy. If WeWork files for bankruptcy, a few potential paths could be pursued, but the primary issue will be how a debtor deals with WeWork's leases. Coworking and flexible-office operators are having to contend with weaker demand more broadly as the office market and economy try to regain their footing.

An AI's depiction of the office of the future at various points over the next quarter of a century shows that the office of the future will look much like the office of today. The workplace will still be populated by humans, and the design of chairs is constrained by our forms. The one thing these images lack is people, which is a shame but not unusual for depictions of offices.

Office property owners across the country are renovating their properties to compete for tenants in the face of remote work. This has led to major renovations of lobbies, which are now being used for more purposes. To stand out, office owners are experimenting with lobby design and activation by adding amenities such as food and beverage bars, fitness centers, co-working spaces, and lounge areas. The trend is toward creating “porous” areas that blend public and private amenities. The balance between public and private space is a concern for landlords, but it can be achieved through security measures and by creating portions of amenity spaces that are exclusive to tenants. Adding amenities to the lobby not only creates a more inviting atmosphere but also serves as another revenue source for office owners. Moreover, it could help retain tenants and boost office occupancy, as tenants consider lobby appearance an important piece of the puzzle. The trend is unlikely to reverse, and designing lobby spaces to be flexible could be the way to ensure they will be able to adapt to the next trend.

Manufacturing low- or no-carbon substitutes for building materials is a challenge for reducing real estate's 40% contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. Speakers at Bisnow's Los Angeles Architecture and Design Summit noted a lack of knowledge among manufacturing sector representatives about their products. The difficulty of tracking embodied carbon in materials is another obstacle to reducing emissions. Architects and designers can help by specifying the use of excellent low-carbon products.

Landsec, London's biggest office owner, is using its 50K SF headquarters as a test bed to see how artificial intelligence (AI) can help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, potentially rolling it out across its £10.2B portfolio. The company is working with Canadian firm Brainbox AI, which uses a cloud-based algorithm to analyse data on a building's energy use and external factors such as weather. The AI then works out the optimal time for heating, cooling and air flow systems to be turned on, ensuring different areas of a building are at a comfortable temperature, but systems are not in use when the building is not being occupied.

Australian furniture designer and manufacturer Schiavello has launched the Valli sofa collection, which won the 'Innovation Award' at the Best of NeoCon 2023 Awards. The collection includes three seating styles, each available as single, two or three seaters, designed to provide spaces for retreat, collaboration, conversation and focus in the workplace. The hero product, Valli Cove, provides a peaceful retreat with upholstered walls for visual and audio privacy, while Valli Float and Valli Drift offer adaptability and versatility for different workplace needs. The collection reflects Schiavello's evolution, merging workplace industry expertise with polished design aesthetic and quality craftsmanship.

Resource Furniture has added eight luxury transforming wall beds to their e-commerce website, resourcefurniture.com, offering customers direct access to their space-maximizing solutions. Designed by Clei S.r.l. in Italy, the wall beds feature customization options and are constructed of composite wood panels made from over 90% recycled wood and plastic.

Italian industrial designer Luca Nichetto designed the visually distinctive Robo Chair, inspired by Björk's "All is Full of Love" music video and Meccano toys. The chair's separate components can be disassembled and placed in a compact box for easy transport, but unfortunately, it is no longer in production.

Keypad, designed by Alain Berteau, is a versatile seating solution that can transform from benches into comfortable sofas. It is made of a steel and wood frame with various density polyester foam, and is available in various high-quality fabrics. The design is offered in one, two, or three seat configurations, with each offering transformability on one or both sides. Keypad is in production by Belgian furniture design brand Objecten Systems.

Artek has released the Paimio Sanatorium Anniversary Collection to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Aaltos’ Paimio Sanatorium, a groundbreaking functionalist building designed to care for tuberculosis patients. The collection includes a limited and numbered edition of Armchair 41 and Stool 60, available in colors that match the building’s original color scheme. For every item sold, Artek will donate to the Paimio Sanatorium Foundation to support the protection of the structure and furniture and the development of new uses for the facilities.

Tinder's new Rapt Studio-designed headquarters in Los Angeles is organized around different concepts, drawing inspiration from urban settings where people commonly connect with each other. The seven-story office provides a spatially diverse environment where employees can choose the level of connection they have with others throughout the workday, creating a balanced offer for employees with different needs. The office is a mascot for how important physical space is for building connection and reiterates the office's relevance in the post-COVID landscape.

Levenfeld Pearlstein's new Chicago office, designed in collaboration with NELSON Worldwide, features private offices for all employees, a balance of boldness and calmness in design, and a commitment to equality and inclusivity. The office also includes a reservation system for office spaces, gender-neutral restrooms, and a goal to become 95% digital. The new office has resulted in increased collaboration and employee engagement.

NeoCon 2024
June 10-12, 2024 | Chicago, IL

 

NeoCon has served as the world’s leading platform and most important event of the year for the commercial design industry since 1969. A launch pad for innovation—NeoCon offers ideas and introductions that shape the built environment today and into the future.  

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